Afraid of Greatness
by thestarsaresobrighthere
Summary: Walburga Black is trying to kill me in a stairwell, I'm well aware that Sirius has probably been incapacitated by his father, I just got caught trying to run away with the Black family heir, the stairs are making suspicious noises under me, and this all involves a flying motorcycle. Well, I guess I know why she wants me dead. The woman always did hate me. SB/OC and later JP/LE.
1. Runaway

**Author's note**

**Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize belongs to me, the rest to JKR.**

**Hi guys! So I know everyone is thinking ew, another Sirius/OC fic. Sorry about that. This kind of popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. So, I'll upload more if this gets a positive response. Or any response. At all. Siriusly (sorry, I had to) I mean AT ALL.**

**Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)  
**

_Tick. Tick. Tick. _The grandfather clock was on the other side of the room from where I was standing and I could almost hear it. Or maybe I was going crazy. Probably the second one. _Yeah, you're definitely crazy. _My head snapped up and I hissed at the person who thought that it would be a great time to use our strange telepathic link. **Did anyone ask you, Sirius?**Okay, maybe I should explain that, most people (magical folk included) don't have links like that. So what happened was last year, I along with five of my friends became illegal animagi for reasons to be discussed later.

Anyways, I digress. It turns out, that Sirius and I have the same animal form. I mean the exact same one, the only difference is the eyes, where his are grey mine are a deep blue. We're not really sure why, but everyone's best guess is that because we have the exact same form, a telepathic bond was formed, which isn't nearly as creepy as it sounds. I swear. We can its kind of like we're talking, but in our minds. We can't dive into each other's memories or minds, and can only hear each other at small distances. Well, when it first happened, we could only get about 5 feet away from each other to stay in the range of the link, but almost 6 months later, the summer before 6th year, we can be on other ends of a house and still be able to use it. It's slow and exhausting to try to strengthen it, but very, very, useful.

I heard him again; _you always want to hear my opinion. _Oh my God, even in his thoughts, he was a smug bastard. _I heard that. _I absently nodded at whatever Cissy was saying. **Shut up and keep your head in the game, Black. **_Yes, Mum._

"Mel! Are you even listening to me?" I looked at my closest girlfriend, Narcissa Black. She looked so pretty tonight, with her white-blonde hair pulled up, and dressed in a deep green dress. Her pale skin and haughty and regal posture was a far cry from my tan and small stature. I smiled at her, while absent-mindedly pulling at my crimson dress,

"Of course, Cissy!" She raised an eyebrow,

"Really? And what was I saying?" Shit.

"About how much you love this beautiful ballroom?" I took a wild guess, because yes, we were in a ballroom.

Imagine sticking all the arrogant, pureblood supremacists in the British Wizarding World's best finery in a room, once a year (usually in July), and you have Nocte in Purus Sanguinem. It literally means, "Night of Pure Blood" in Latin. Gag. The kids who are forced to go (me, Cissy, Sirius, Regulus, Lucius, etc.) call it Nocte. The older generation calls it "The Meeting", which doesn't make much sense, mainly because it's a ball, and NOT a meeting. Well, maybe it is for them, but you'd think they would be more discreet, if it is.

"Hardly, I was asking you if you had finished your Summer Assignments for school." She murmured, giving me a small smirk. I rolled my eyes, and shook my head.

"No, I've done DADA though, and Transfiguration. I have been dreading that Potions assignment, though. What about you, Reg?" Regulus Black looked up at me,

"I'm all done with mine." He spoke softly, and not for the first time, it struck me how unlike his brother he was. Where Regulus was quiet and studious, his brother, Sirius, was loud and attention seeking. I'm also pretty sure that when I drug him with me to the Library last year to look for books on the Animagus transformation, it was the first time he had set foot in there. I'm not kidding.

I had become friends with Regulus when I was about 5, and Cissy even before that. Reg was a year younger than us, but we are both very close to the younger boy. Recently though, my friendship with his older (Gryffindor) brother had been putting a very noticeable strain on my relationship with the (very much Slytherin) younger Black. And this is where things got sticky.

I was sorted as a Gryffindor, along with Sirius (and the rest of my friends, except Cissy and Reg), and we become pretty close in the first four years of our time in Hogwarts. However, in 5th year, any chance of us not being best friends was pretty much annihilated by the link. Both brothers disapproved of my relationship with the other. Sirius maintained that his brother was a future Death Eater and my parents were going to try to get us hitched (which is very possible, but also isn't his fault). Meanwhile, Regulus said that his brother was a bed influence on me (probably), and that he was a disgrace to his family and to our 'kind'. Yeck. Purebloods.

I love Reg I really do. He's one of my best friends. But lately, he's become so aggressive over his beliefs and my lack of agreement with them. I wonder if he'll still speak to me after tonight. I hope so, but probably not. No, shut up. Don't think like that, you'll lose your drive; I won't let them marry me away. I heard a whisper of someone else's thoughts pass through, _Start making your exit, Mellie. _**Wait half an hour after me, and then leave. **I zoned back into the conversation Cissy (who knew about the plan) and Reg (who didn't know about the plan) were having. Cissy looked keenly at me,

"Are you okay, Melanie?" I nodded,

"I'm not feeling very well, actually, I think I might just go home early." Cissy hugged me,

"Get better, then. Bye sweetie." I hugged her back briefly. Regulus nodded his good-bye, but I hugged him anyways, and whispered in his ear,

"Bye, Reggie." I let go, and set off to find my parents, to tell them I was going home, ignoring the confused gaze burning into my back.

I took a deep breath, and found my father's imposing form with the practiced ease of a small woman used to being in crowds. As I approached, Andrew Taylor, turned to look at his eldest daughter: me. He smiled his fake "Look at me, aren't I a great father?" smile.

"Father?" I spoke softly, with my eyes locked on the ground. My father was the heir to one of the biggest Pureblooded American fortunes, and was a tall man, with dark hair much like my own, and cold brown eyes. His favorite pass times include: being drunk, cursing "those filthy Mudbloods", or yelling at his eldest daughter (me).

The reason we were here at the British get-together was not because of him, but because of my mother, Jasmine Taylor (nee Malfoy). She is the sister of Abraxas and the only girl of old man Malfoy, meaning that not only were we able to be stuck up and obnoxious in the States but in the UK too. Yay. Her favorite things to do were: gossiping (mainly with Walburga Black), pampering her youngest daughter, or (and you guessed it) being drunk.

"Yes, darling?" Eck. I hated this man. Always have, and I always will.

"I'm feeling quite unwell, may I be permitted to Floo home early?" I saw the debate in his eyes. He could demand that I stay, and jeopardize his appearance as a caring father, or let me go and leave me alone, with no supervision, quite possibly allowing his house to be blown to pieces, or something else just as unspeakable. Then he smiled, and nodded.

"Of course, you may, when you get home, tell Pinky to make you something to eat, your color looks rather off." I nodded and tried to hide my smile that I had been right to bank on my father's need to look good, instead of just leaving, and I was also pretty sure my "off-color" was my nerves.

"Thank you Father, I will." I turned and began to walk to the Flooing room. I passed Sirius on the way. He spared me a glance, but barely. It was the look of people who knew who each other were, but had never spoken before, or at least in a very long time. **30 minutes start now, Black.** I never broke my stride, or even looked at him. I finally tracked down the Floo room after several walk-ins on, erm, couples. I shakily closed the door behind me and grabbed some of the glittering powder in my left hand. I stepped into the fireplace and shouted,

"Taylor Estate! Drawing Room!" And then I was surrounded by the Emerald flames and tried to keep my dinner in my stomach.

Seconds later, I was stumbling out of the fireplace that was closest to my room that was connected to the Floo Network. I took a deep breath and brushed off my dress. Then it set in. I had 30 minutes to get my stuff together and get to the Black's house, where Sirius would promptly arrive and we would quietly slip away to the Potter's, in the only non traceable manner available to us: Sirius' motorcycle a.k.a. the screaming metal death trap that happens to also fly. Sirius was packed; no one ever went in his room, not even the house elf, Kreacher. In 30 minutes he would Floo to his house, and I'll be waiting to leave.

Like I broke from a spell, I bolted to my room, and tore my dress off, leaving it in a crumpled heap on my floor. I pulled on a pair of black yoga pants and a sports bra and pulled a red tank top over that. I pulled my wand out and began to float the things I needed (clothes, pictures, toiletries, etc.) into my second trunk, my first being filled with my school stuff.

Then I realized. Money. I needed money. I finished my trunks, shrunk them, and then put them in my backpack. I ran to my father's study. I paused and thought_: if I was a snotty rich man where would I hide my secret stash of money?_ I looked at the picture of his father behind his desk chair and pulled it off the hooks. It had been 15 minutes since I had walked by Sirius. And sure enough, there was the vault door. I muttered a few spells to break the enchantments. I then blasted the door open and emptied it into a bag, which was then shrunk and put into the backpack. 5 minutes to get to the Blacks. I ran back to the drawing room and hopped into the fireplace and shouted,

"12 Grimmauld Place! Master Bedroom!" I know it was kind of a ballsy move going into Walburga and Orion's bedroom but I also knew that it was close to Sirius' room, and that was where I needed to be. I stumbled no more gracefully than I had at my own house into the master bedroom of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. I brushed my clothes off again and tapped myself with a disillusionment charm and ran out of the Master room and into the hallway. On my way down one of the flights of stairs, Kreacher passes me, and I swear he knows I'm there, and I have to press against a wall and hold my breath, but other than that, I make it into the heir of the House of Black's room, unseen. I check my time. I had two minutes until Sirius was supposed to be here. So, I decide to poke around his room.

On the walls, presumably stuck there with Permanent Sticking Charms, were large Gryffindor banners, even larger pictures of Muggle girls in bikinis, and several smaller pictures. I recognized myself in one of the pictures: it had been almost immediately after we had all successfully completed the Animagus transformation, and were riding off the high from getting away with something so in the face of the law. So in the face, no one thought we could do it.

Lily's face was bright red (and trying to hide her face in her hands), probably from embarrassment that she and James had nearly the same forms (Lily was a doe and James a stag). Peter looked beside himself with joy, and was talking animatedly with Alice about their forms (a rat and a mockingbird, respectively), Remus appeared that someone had hit him over the head with something rather solid, and was wearing a dazed sort of look, like he could hardly believe that people would so boldly break the law to help him. James was trying to chat up the blushing Lily, and Sirius and I were chasing each other around in the picture, both shifting in and out of our identical forms as we went, changing from shaggy black dog to human and back again. All of a sudden, Remus comes forward and takes the camera and Marlene steps into the frame and sits on one of the dog's backs, clearly thinking it's me. The other dog shifts back to reveal me, and she jumps off of Sirius, who changes and laughs at her, but jokingly ruffles her hair. Remus waves his hand, just at the top of the frame and we all cluster together to smile and wave at the camera.

I smile. There's a lot going on there but a single word comes up to describe it. Family.

The door opens behind me and I jump, forgetting that I'm invisible, well, not quite but camouflaged extremely well. Sirius walks in and I relax. He flops down on his bed and I mutter "_Finite."_ And I'm suddenly visible. He jumps and looks up but visibly relaxes when he sees me and not his mother or father. When he stands there's a lot of tension in the set of his shoulders. There's a grim set to his mouth, also. He looks at me,

"Ready?" I nod and he grabs his backpack, "We need to get out the front door, the bike's out front, under a disillusionment charm." We quietly walk out his door, which he spares a heavy glance, then we begin to head down the stairs. We're almost down, one flight of stairs away, when we hear something creak downstairs. We both draw our wands. Then I realize there's someone behind us. I turn and scream the first thing that comes to mind,

"Stupefy!" And I'm face to face with Walburga Black. Fuck me. I hear a scuffle further down the stairs, and I assume that Sirius is dueling his father. A cruel smile twists her lips as we begin to furiously duel each other,

"You honestly didn't think that you two could slip away unnoticed, by us? Melanie Taylor. You're a strong witch, you could be valuable to the cause." I send a stinging hex at her face, which she deflects, "You really could be. The future that's been laid out for you is a good one, better than most. After you finish Hogwarts, your mother and father will set you up with a job in the Ministry. At the age of 20, after your career has solidified, you will marry my youngest son. You will have two or three children, or however many it takes to have a boy, an heir, and you will take work off until your children are all in Hogwarts." I rolled my eyes,

"You can't honestly think that's what I want? To be a creepy little follower of Voldemort. I will fight, but it won't be for you." I heard a thud from where Sirius and Orion were fighting, and assumed I was about ready to get some help or another person to try to incapacitate. I groaned as some kind of spell split open my left side, I flicked my wrist and non-verbally disarmed her. "_Stupefy!"_

She rolled to the ground and I tossed her wand on the ground next to her I heard a voice behind me,

"Incarcerous!" And when the ropes didn't tie around me, I knew it wasn't Orion Black behind me. I turned to see his son, instead. Sirius looked just about as bad as I was sure I did. _You okay? _I nodded and together we ran out of his house. As we passed Orion, he glared up at us, bound by ropes on the floor in the entryway.

Together, we who used to be the Prince and Princess of the Purebloods, turned our backs on an old life, and opened a new chapter of our lives, as we walked out of the home of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, as family, to head home, to people that truly cared about our extremely injured selves.

And that's when I realized that I was pretty much hemorrhaging my life away through my left hip. I said nothing though, confident that Mrs. P could put me right when we got there. The Disillusionment charm was taken off the bike, and we headed to Potter Manor on a flying metal death trap.

We were almost out of London when I felt the blood loss finally getting to me. My eyes felt heavy all of a sudden, and I was greatly tempted to shut my eyes and take a nap. _Mellie? Melanie? Are you okay? Melanie? Melanie!_ I finally gave in to sleep, with Sirius' words ringing in my mind.

**AN**

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	2. Boys, Blood, and Burning

**Disclaimer: Everything that you don't recognize belongs to Queen JKR, anything else (including plot) is mine**

**There's a lot of switching POVs in this chapter, and please review guys, i feel unloved. :( Even if you just say 'it sucks' or 'good job', please say something :)  
**

**Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

JAMES POV

I was reading _Quidditch Through the Ages_ (again) in my room when I heard my mom,

"James! Come down here!" I groaned,

"Mooomm!"

"James Charlus Potter, you come down here this instant!" The Auror sounded unusually panicked and I decided it would be best to listen. Sighing I threw the much-loved book on my bed and went down the stairs to see what my mother could possibly want at this time of night (midnight). My mother's name is Dorea Potter. She has dark red hair streaked with grey, and is only a little crazy (the good kind that makes you a good duelist). When I finally made it to the kitchen she was scowling at me,

"James, would you like to explain to me why it is I was just accused of hiding pureblooded runaways?" I shifted uncomfortably,

"Er, I don't know? Why would you think—" Just then we heard something, it was kind of like a pop, but more muted and lower in tone. We both knew what it was. Someone had passed through the wards, "Mom? You said Dad wasn't going to be home tonight, didn't you?" She nodded and we both drew our wands. Then I heard it: a soft kind of purr. I knew what it was automatically, an engine, and by the sounds of it, it was above us. Padfoot and that damned flying bike (which I actually love), "Mom. It's Sirius." She shook her head,

"That can't be. I was told two of them had run away." I gasped in realization then laughed breathily at the obviousness of it all. Mellie. She had bolted too. I should have known there was no way he would leave her in that Hellhole, alone no less, if he was making an escape plan that might actually work. See, Pads hadn't come to the conclusion that the rest of us had years ago: he loved the dark haired beauty. A lot. I hadn't really put much stock by Remus' and the girls' theory until I had witnessed the two discovering the link and he was so happy to have it, and loved being able to talk to her all the time. I remember how they had stared at each other for a moment then had hugged each other so tightly, possessive almost, and proceeded to try it's boundaries.

But what I saw was the subtle shifting of relationship. We all thought that the link was more than hearing thoughts, except you know, Mellie and Pads; they took it at surface value. But after they had discovered it, I noticed he became fiercely protective of her, and she was more vocal on shutting Regulus' strictures on Padfoot down. We had all noticed. I had overheard Lily and Marlene saying this, and that it was particularly tragic, they had said, considering we could all be killed tomorrow. I had personally agreed and thought it put a rather morbid spin of two of my best friends' lives. But, I digress.

"Mom, it's Sirius, Melanie's with him. I'm positive." She looked at me a moment then nodded and dashed out the door. I heard the bike touch down and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that while they were here, we could protect them, keep them away from their crazy families. I heard a gasp. Mom.

"James! Come out here! Now! Run!" I ran out in time to see Pads pretty much fall on top of my mom. I sprinted over, my Quidditch muscles kicking in, and lifted Pads off my mother. I hoisted him up in a fireman's lift and saw that the back of his white dress shirt was covered in blood

"Mom, there's so much blood…" She waved her hand at me,

"He's fine, I think it's just exhaustion, the blood is hers." I looked closely and saw that Mellie had been behind him on the bike. She grabbed Mellie and together we brought the runaways into the house. When we saw how bad Mellie looked, I thought I was going to throw up. My mom was eerily calm.

"James, go Floo Dumbledore. Now." I nodded and ran over to the fireplace. I grabbed the Floo powder and stuck my head in,

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster's Office!" I felt like my head had been disjointed from my shoulders then I was looking at the floor in Dumbledore's office.

"Professor? Professor Dumbledore!" No answer, of course the one time I actually wanted him to be there, he wasn't. I saw Fawkes on his perch, near Dumbledore's desk, "Fawkes! Go get him! Please! Students have been severely injured! They're dy—they're hurt please!" He looked at me with an unreadable gaze quite like the Headmaster's and burst into flame, leaving a single crimson feather on his perch. Not 5 seconds later did Dumbledore come down the stairs, I supposed led to where he slept. He looked surprised to see me.

"Mr. Potter, what are you—" I cut him off.

"Sir, it's Melanie Taylor and Sirius Black! They're really hurt. Mom said to tell you to bring Poppy to our house. Quickly. There's blood everywhere." He nodded.

"I am coming immediately and Fawkes will get Poppy. Kindly remove your head from the network so I may come through." I pulled back and was in my kitchen again, I scrambled back to give Dumbledore enough space to arrive.

He arrived and stepped out of our fireplace with a certain amount of urgency. He looked at me and I absent-mindedly realized, for the first time, he wasn't treating me like a child, "Show me the way, Mr. Potter." I nodded and moved quickly to the entryway where I had left my mother, Mellie and Padfoot. She was still there working furiously on the no longer bleeding Mellie. The old Wizard knelt next to her and checked her pulse. I was about ready to pass out next to Pads at this point.

He whispered quietly, "She lives. Barely, but she's alive."

"She's not bleeding. That's good, isn't it?" I asked,

"Not necessarily. It could mean she has no blood left." I sat before I fell down and watched my mom, Dumbledore, and Poppy Pomfrey try to fix my two best friends. Sirius came around enough to move him off the floor after about an hour, so he was transferred to the Living room couch, under my supervision. The other three needed full attention on Mellie and couldn't spare anyone to watch a healthy, albeit exhausted, boy. It was about three in the morning and Mellie was still unresponsive, but Pads was coming around and was shockingly awake. He rolled over on the couch muttering,

"Mel…" His eye focused on me and he tried to sit up, but I gently pushed him down, "Prongs. It's Mellie. She's really hurt. I—oh, my God I cant believe I let myself fall asleep. I am the worst friend in the world. Who can't stay awake as they drive a flying motorcycle with an unconscious girl on the back? What the fu—" I cut off his ranting.

"Pads." Ignored, "Padfoot." Yet again, ignored. "Sirius Orion Black. You listen here." He looked up that time, "You didn't fall asleep. You passed out from exhaustion. Poppy said that it was a miracle you stayed awake as long as you did. You were still awake when you landed. You passed out on my mom. Thanks for that by the way. This isn't your fault. Your crazy mother hexed her, not you. Her crazy family tried to get her to marry a Death Eater, not you. Look, Pads, even if you had made her stay, she would have left on her own, and wouldn't have done as well, she's alive, Pads, unresponsive, but alive. And considering the Dark magic that was being hurled at her it's all we can ask for right now. You got her here safe. You protected her. Now, I'm going to write the girls to tell them that one of their best friends is hurt. Promise me you won't do anything stupid in the 5 minutes it takes to get parchment and ink?" He nodded tersely, "Good. I'll be right back. And try to pull yourself together, I can feel my testosterone levels dropping as we speak."

I left him in the Living Room, at 5:30 in the morning and went to go get parchment and ink to tell Lily that her best friend almost died. Well, I made it half way there. I heard a gasp from the Entryway, where they had yet to move Mellie from.

"James." Dumbledore. I walked into the hall to see Mellie with her eyes barely open. I ran over to her and grabbed her hand,

"Mellie?"

"James?" Her voice was raspy, and clogged with the same exhaustion that I knew plagued Padfoot. I smiled at her,

"You can go to sleep. You're safe here. We're all okay." She smiled and nodded and drifted off to sleep.

MELANIE POV

My world was burning. I heard voices above me.

"She lives. Barely, but she's alive." In my non-lucid state I couldn't tell who it was. The words meant nothing to me, just words.

"She's not bleeding. That's good, isn't it?" A different voice. This one meant more to me. James, I think. I couldn't be sure though

"Not necessarily. It could mean she has no blood left." The same voice again. I heard someone shuffle next to me an indefinite time later.

"Wha—what's going on? James?" I was right. It is James, but the other boy, I knew who he was. It's Sirius. I'm positive. Then the darkness grabbed me and all was silent.

SIRIUS POV

I woke up to the soft voices of James and Charlus Potter, with the Sun glaring in my face. I groaned and rolled over. Both of their gazes were glued to me when I opened my eyes. James smiled with absolute relief and Mr. P fell into a chair. I looked around and realized that I had been moved into a guest room in Potter Manor.

I looked at Prongs like he was crazy. Well, in all fairness to me, he was looking at me like I was a walking miracle.

"What? Do I smell or something?" He smirked,

"Only everyday Pads."

"Hey! I always smell like daisies."

"If that's what floats your boat."


	3. Family, and It's Not the Good Kind

**Disclaimer: If I was JKR, I wouldn't be on FanFiction, would I?**

**Yay, this one's all in one POV! Anyways, I should let you guys know that updates aren't going to be a frequent after this week, because I'm going back to school next Monday, and school comes before writing (I know, I wish it didn't, too).  
**

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**Also, I have a question: I'm getting tons of hits, but no reviews, is that normal?  
**

**Love, Stars  
**

MELANIE POV

This time when I woke up, my world wasn't burning, it was warm, but comfortably so. I heard voices above me again, except now the words had weight, and the people meant something too.

"She'll wake up when she's ready. You can't force her to open her eyes." That was Mrs. Potter. Ah, I love that woman.

"But it's been so long. 5 days." I felt my insides drop. Five days? I had been out for that long? I tried to force my eyes to open. I pushed and pushed at them to try to get them to open. I felt them flutter a little.

"Mellie? Can you hear us? Wake up, love. Wake up for all of us. Lily and Mr. and Mrs. Evans are here. So are Moony, Marley and Alice. Please wake up. We're all so worried about you. Wake up." I pushed my eyes to open. Pushed and pushed and pushed. My muscles screamed and I told them to stop bitching. My eyelids were so heavy, and it was so tempting to give up, but I wanted to see the owner of the voice. I didn't know who it was, but I wanted to see him. I pushed and pushed and I finally felt my eyes open.

I saw blurry shapes that slowly came into focus. I saw Mrs. P in an armchair and to my surprise; Sirius was next to my bed. I looked around, not familiar with the room I was in.

"Wh—where am I?" My voice is raspy from the lack of use, and my eyes sting from the harsh light. He smiled at me apparently thrilled I was awake.

"Mel, you're in St. Mungo's. After Mrs. P and Dumbledore couldn't get you to wake up, we had to bring you here. But don't worry; you are 100% safe here. No matter what, we'll protect you." I nod and I hear voices.

"Mel! Oh thank goodness, you're okay!" I look up to see Lily in the doorway with Marley and Alice. Sirius steps away from the bed to let the girls see me. He winks at me and walks out the door presumably to find a Healer to tell I'm awake.

"Lils, hi. I'd hug you if I could." Eh, reunions aren't my thing. Marley and Alice both smiled at me,

"Hey there, Mellie, how are you?" Alice was so sweet. I shrugged at her question,

"I don't know, I've been up for like a total of five minutes now, so yeah." Marley grinned at me,

"No chance of us losing the Quidditch Cup now, huh?" I looked at her,

"Marlene, unless I've severely lost my mind, I don't play Quidditch. And I highly doubt I _ever_ will play Quidditch." She shrugged,

"Oh, I know, it's just with our s star chaser and beater so out of their minds with worry, I was beginning to wonder." I chuckled at that. It was so Marlene to make you feel better with a joke or lightening the mood. Those were her things. She also had a pretty wicked Cunjuctivitus Curse. I opened my mouth to respond, but a woman I assumed was my healer came in.

"Ah, Miss. Potter, it's good to see you're awake." **Uh, Sirius? **_Yes? _I was pleased to here him answer from the other side of the hospital, it meant the link had grown in strength. **Why did the Healer call me Miss. Potter? **_I'll explain later. Just go with it._ I smiled at her weakly.

"I'm glad to be awake. How long was I out?" I said, pretending I hadn't heard this before. She smiled reassuringly at me,

"A little over five days, hon. But really, you should be more careful with spells you throw at shield charms. I know you were just playing around, but it nearly cost you your life." So, more lies, because 'playing around' wouldn't be a term I would use for our lovely escape plan, or the woman I had been dueling. I smiled and tried to come up with a neutral response,

"I know, I can be a total airhead sometimes." Lily snickered in the chair Mrs. P had occupied earlier and when the Healer's back was turned I shot her a scowl. She turned back around and smiled at me,

"Well, the good news it that now you're awake, I can tell you that there will be no long term damage except some scarring on your hip. You'll need to take it easy for the next week or so, but other than that, you're good as new. We do want to keep you here overnight, just for observation." I nodded, feeling rather relieved. The Healer smiled and walked out of the room. A moment later her head popped back in the doorway.

"Hon? You have some friends here to see you, can I let them in?" I smiled and nodded. In came the boys (minus Peter, I guess his mom made him stay home), Mr. and Mrs. P, and the Evans. James, Remus and Sirius ran over to my bed. And then they all started to talk at the same time.

"Mellie!"

"You got blood all over my house!"

"Yeah, you ruined my good dress shirt."

"Hello, Melanie."

"I'm glad to see you're awake."

"Oh sweetie, we were all so worried."

"Nearly gave me a heart attack when Lily got James' letter." My head started to throb from all of the people talking.

"Hey! Enough! Before my head explodes." They all fell quiet, "Hello Remus, it's really good to see you. James, I'm sorry I got blood all over your house." His mother whacked him over the head, "Sirius, I'm sorry I ruined your good dress shirt, I'll buy you another, I promise." Mrs. P whacked him too, "Hi Mr. P, it's good to see you." He smiled at me, I had never been as close to Charlus Potter as I was to his wife, but he still took me in, and I would be eternally grateful "Mrs. P, thank you so much for taking care of me, I owe you my life, don't I?" She smiled,

"It was nothing. You're family Melanie. And don't let these boys fool you, they've been worried sick. You should have seen James' face when you woke up for a moment the night you came to us. I thought he would pass out and die from relief."

"Mooomm."

"Hush Jamie."

"Don't call me Jamie, Mom." I was laughing at him when Mrs. Evans interrupted,

"Dorea, Charlus, can you give us a minute with Melanie and our children?" I looked around and realized that Petunia was hiding in the corner of the room, next to the door. Mr. and Mrs. P nodded and guided the girls and three present Marauders out of the room (James stuck his tongue out a Petunia on his way by and she squealed quite loudly at the sight of a 'freak' sticking his tongue out at her), and closed the door gently, leaving the Evans family and me alone.

Lils looked at me and grinned,

"Shove over." I pulled my feet up and she sat by my feet, pulling her knees under her chin. Mr. Evans looked at his oldest daughter and said sternly,

"Petunia, come sit over here, this involves you too." Petunia looked like she rather wouldn't but came over and sat between her parents in the chairs next to the bed Lils and I were occupying. I was really confused.

"Lils, what's going on?" I whispered. She poked my arm,

"Hush, they're going to explain." I nodded and rested my head on her shoulder. She wrapped her arm around me. Petunia was trying to burn holes in my face with her eyes.

"Melanie, I was you to know, first and foremost, that we are so glad you're safe. You're probably wondering why you are under the name Melanie Potter." I nodded, well, as much as I could in my position, "You are under the surname of Potter for safety reasons. If St. Mungo's were told of your last name, they would be required by law to contact your parents. They were told that you were a cousin of James', and that your parents are dead, and you will be living with them." I nodded. And Petunia snorted.

"Why not just call her family?" Lily looked at her like she'd lost her mind,

"Petunia. How could you say that?" I lifted my head off Lil's shoulder.

"It's alright, Fire." We had called Lily Fire since about second year. It had become her nickname because of the Fire Lily, and because of her crimson hair. I stood and realized I was in clothes that one of the boys had brought me, from my trunk: a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

I pulled up my shirt up over my head and turned toward Petunia, she gasped, as did Mr. and Mrs. Evans. The only unsurprised one was Lily, and she still looked sickened.

"All courtesy of my parents, except of course this," I pointed to my left hip, "is from the charming Walburga Black." Lils spoke up,

"Mellie, you should know that Sirius hasn't seen what Walburga did." I looked down at my hip for the first time, and I felt a little sickened myself. There were three crisscrossing scars that were deep, so, so deep. They weren't irritated anymore; they were just slightly lighter than the rest of my skin, and were slightly raised. I prodded them experimentally, and found that they were a little sore, but nothing horrible. I heard the door open and my head snapped up to find myself staring at a pair of grey eyes. Sirius. The door slammed shut not a second later. I sighed and sunk onto the bed, with my head in my hands. Lils helped me put my shirt back on. Mrs. Evans cleared her throat and tried to get the conversation on track.

"But, as we were saying, the Ministry thinks you, Melanie Taylor, are away this summer on an exchange program in Australia. You will 'return' on August 31, the day before you girls will leave for Hogwarts. You will be turning 17 in January, am I correct?" I nodded, "Yes, well, after that, you will no longer be a ward of your parents, and they have no legal hold on you. But until then, it would be impractical for you to stay with the Potter's, as it's the first place your parents will look for you.

But, we don't make this offer out of complete selflessness. We love you very much, and want you to live with us, until you turn 17." I was confused.

"How is that not selfless?"

"We want to be able to protect our third daughter, and it's very selfish to keep you close, Melanie." Mr. Evans finally spoke. I burst into tears right there. Lils hugged me and rubbed my back, trying to get the waterworks to stop.

"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GOING TO LIVE WITH US?" Petunia was working up into a rage, I could tell, "I DON'T WANT ANOTHER FREAK IN OUR HOUSE! WHY CAN'T SHE STAY WITH THE POTTER'S? AND WHY CAN SHE TAKE HER," she gestured to Lily, "WITH HER?" Lil's face fell, and I saw tears coming. I instantly changed gears. **Sirius. **_Yeah? _**Get James. Bring him here. Lils is having family problems.** _On our way. _I hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear,

"Don't listen, Fire. Ignore it." I stood and helped Lily up. I heard the door open, "Lils, go with James." She didn't argue and she walked to the door and he put an arm around her and guided her down the hall. **Stay.** I sat down on my bed, my legs hanging off the side. I heard someone else close the door and felt a weight press down on the bed next to me. An arm wrapped around me. _Are you okay? Have you been crying?_ Even his mental voice sharpened at the last part. I nodded. **The Evans' want me to come live with them.** I heard a soft,

"Oh!" from next to me. **We need to talk after this. **_Agreed._

"Petunia, we aren't asking you. This is about more than your dislike of your sister—" Mrs. Evans was cut off by Sirius,

"Who is way better than you, might I add."

"Sirius!" I exclaimed

"What? It's true!"

"I know, but don't tell her that! Besides, that's an unfair comparison. Lily's one of the best people I know, she's way better than a lot of people!" I cried. He rolled his eyes, but remained quiet, a smirk playing at his lips. Mr. Evans continued his wife's statement with a serious expression, but I saw the smile tugging at one of the corners of his mouth,

"This is more than your dislike of Lily, and by association, Melanie. She could be killed, if we don't take her in. Would you want her life on your hands?" The way Petunia pursed her lips made me suspect that she couldn't care less if I dropped dead in front of her face right now. Sirius' arm tightened around my shoulders as she glared at me.

I heard the door creak open and Lily walked in, looking better than when I had sent her away with James. Sirius rose from where he was sitting next to me, to make room for Lily. She smiled at him and muttered a quick thanks to him as he went to go lean against the doorframe, behind the Evans family. She sat down next to me and I poked her in the shoulder with a greatly exaggerated wink, causing her to giggle quietly. Petunia glared at us again and I stuck my tongue out at her. _She's jealous. _**What?**_ She envies how close you are to Lily. To her it looks like you're the sister she never could be to Lily. _Well, that explains the glaring.

"So it's settled then. Melanie will come to live with us for this summer and next, until you girls are done with school. If you'll excuse us, we need to speak to the Potter's about 'protective enchantments' I believe Charlus said they were called. Come with us Petunia. Leave them alone for now." Petunia got up and left behind her parents. Lily said she was going to go find the girls. It was time for our little talk about how Sirius' mother had tried to kill me. We took places in armchairs placed directly across from each other.

"How bad does it look?"

"Why did you run out?" We said at the same time. I smiled, "Let's try again. Sirius, why did you run out the first time you walked in?" He shifted uncomfortably,

"Well, I was coming in because Prongs forgot his glasses, and he made me come in to get them. When I opened the door, and you weren't wearing a shirt, at first it was embarrassing, cause, well, you weren't wearing a shirt, but then I noticed all the scars everywhere. And I thought about how, that night I heard you and my mother dueling, and I was one of the scariest nights of my life, because I could see the stairs starting to break from all the curses. I knew there was dark magic being thrown around above me. And it made me wonder, how many of those had you been given because I had convinced you to run-away? How much was my fault?"

"Are you serious? No, don't use that pun right now." His mouth shut, "You think I wouldn't have tried to leave without you? You think that this is your fault? This isn't your fault Sirius. It's not. I would have chosen to leave with or without you. You saved my life. The night we left, when I was in the entryway, right next to the Living room, I heard James say that you had made yourself stay awake until you landed the bike.

Don't ask me how he knows, Sirius, you landed in the middle of the driveway, it was intentional. You can't blame this one on yourself. If wasn't your fault and it wasn't mine either. Your mother's an extremely good duelist. I didn't have a prayer coming out of that unhurt, and when I tried to stun her I knew what I was in for. I don't blame you. No one does, because there's nothing to blame. I wasn't going to be married to your brother, as much as I like him as a person, I won't marry a Death Eater." I realized my mistake too late: he didn't know about Reg taking the Mark.

"What? When did he take the Mark?"

"He hasn't yet. A month after he turns 16, he's going to receive it. I'm really sorry I thought you knew. I assumed your parents would have mentioned it."

"November. He's going to become a Death Eater in November."

"Sirius. Don't do this to yourself. I shouldn't have told you."

"How long have you known?"

"A little over a month now."

"And you haven't tried to talk him out of it?" I could see him starting to get angry.

"Are you kidding? I tried to talk him out of taking the Mark every single time I saw him. He just wouldn't listen. What Walburga and Orion think of him means too much to him."

"Well, you should have tried harder! If you had made better arguments he wouldn't do it! This is your fault!" I raised my eyebrows and began to feel anger pulling at the edges of my vision, turning it red, this was the Sirius I hate, the one that I hate so much because it's the part of my nature that I tried so hard to hide. Unfortunately, having someone just like you is like they're being a walking, talking mirror in your life, and forcing you to examine all of your faults.

"Excuse me, but how is this my fault?! At least I tried! I begged him, I threatened to tell Dumbledore, I told him I'd never speak to him again if he took the mark, I started crying when he told me he was doing it whether I liked it or not! At least I tried, its not like I can say the same for you! You told me that I should stop hanging out with him! What if I had listened to you, Sirius? What then?" He had no answer to that, so Sirius Black just contented himself by going out the door, taking the time to slam it shut behind him.

I couldn't help but think that he had just slammed to door on our friendship too. Lils came in moments later. She crawled into the uncomfortable hospital bed with me, and hugged me as I cried myself to sleep, for the second time in the last month, over the Black brothers.


	4. Coming Home

**Disclaimer: If I was JKR...ya-da ya-da ya-da not on FanFiction ya-da.**

**Yay! First reviewer!  
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**xXallegedangelXx: Yup, Sirius is a TOTAL hot head, but keep in mind, so is Melanie, they _are_ EXACTLY alike (thus the identical forms, they DO look like your soul) and it'll make for an interesting story, or least I'll try to make it interesting. Other than that, my lips are sealed on the soulmate question somewhere this public. PM me if you really want to know. ;)  
**

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

I was released from St. Mungo's into the Evans' care on July 15, 1976 at 1:30 in the afternoon. I hadn't spoken to either James or Sirius, and I wanted to keep it like that, at least for now. Lily had said that Sirius had come storming into the waiting room, had grabbed James, walked out the front door of St. Mungo's and never come back in. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had allowed Lily and I to Floo home (that still sounds weird) for, I suspected, two reasons. One, because we could, and there was barely enough room in their sedan car, and two, they thought that the poor, poor car couldn't withstand the drive time (2 hours) with Petunia, Lily, and I, all crammed into the backseat. So, at 1:31 I was standing in the Evans' living room without Lily, who I was waiting on to Floo over, just behind me. I heard her stumble out of the fireplace not twenty seconds after me. She smiled at me.

"So, you have a room next to mine, but because we're us, we can work a little magic and just make it one big room."

"Lils, we're both minors, we can't use magic in a Muggle household." She winked at me and I followed her up the stairs into what I assumed to be her room, as it had a Gryffindor banner on the door, along with several moving pictures of Marley, Alice, and us.

The inside of the room was so typically Lily. The wall was painted a light yellow and all her furniture was white. She had a stack of schoolbooks on her desk, and posters from Muggle and Wizard rock bands alike. There were pictures all over the room, and I saw my face laughing up from countless places, moving, and still in Muggle Polaroids. There were clothes all over the wood floors, and her Walkman was on her white beanbag chair. There was also a set of double doors on the wall to the right of her door, which I assumed led to her closet.

It struck me then, how different she was from Cissy. She was small, like me, and had bright, vivacious looks, with flame red hair and bright green eyes where Narcissa has the pale, regal looks that looks more at home in the Malfoy family than in the Blacks (who usually sport aristocratic, dark and haughty, good-looks), which is her actual family. Malfoy traits had a strange way of showing themselves though, and I wasn't surprised she looked so like them. I had only inherited my dark-blue eyes from my mother, other than that I was all my father's side, and my mother _was_ a Malfoy.

Not only their looks but also their personalities were so different. Lily's open and fiery attitude was much different than Cissy's reserved and refined manner. Cissy's indifferent mask was a far cry from Lily's temper that matched her hair in color.

I loved them both, but I wasn't stupid. I knew that Cissy belonged in my childhood, playing in gardens with tall hedges, sitting next to each other at our families' formal dinners, playing tag with Reg in my old house. How Cissy belonged to my past, Lily belonged to my future, laying in the common room, trying to pass N.E.W.T.S., going through Auror training, fighting Death Eaters. That was what awaited me, and I was really glad she would be with me. This kind girl, so full of life, was a good person to have on your side in dark times.

"Mellie?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about what the rest of our lives hold." She raised a single eyebrow at me. I had always wanted to do that. She smirked, knowing exactly what I was thinking,

"Be jealous of my skills, come on, let's go see your room" We went one door to the right, and she opened it to reveal a room painted the same yellow as her room. I also had almost identical furniture, all white, but it was completely empty of anything but the desk, chest of drawers and the bed. I wiggled my backpack around on my shoulder, which still held all my worldly possessions, glad I had brought my mass of blankets and pillows, which I kept piled up in a corner of my room to lay on. I called it the Puff. I noticed on my left wall, there was also a set of double doors. The same hard wood covered my floors, and I realized that it stopped under the set of double doors, instead of continuing under the door, as it should have if it was a closet.

"So, my room and this room were built for siblings, and Petunia used to live here, until my Hogwarts letter came and she said she didn't want to be next to a freak. So, this is—was—the guest room, but now it's yours. We usually keep this door locked, but because its not a guest room anymore," she gestures to the double doors, "I guess we can keep it unlocked, or even take the doors off the hinges, if you want to." Lily swiftly walks over to the double doors and takes out a set of keys.

She unlocks the door and swings them open grandly, like how I had seen people open doors to ballrooms. She gestures me over, not knowing what I was going to see. Inside was a huge bathroom, with double sinks, and two showers, and another, smaller door, which I guessed went to the toilet, very much like our bathroom in our dorm, but smaller, fit for two girls, not 4.

I noticed that there was another set of double doors on the other side of the bathroom, after I was done checking out the Jacuzzi-style bathtub. Lils went over to them and smiled. She opens them to reveal her room. I smile. We had connected rooms and our own bathroom. "This is what I meant when I said we could make it one room. We can take the doors down, if you want to." I silently nodded.

"Yes please." And so for the next two hours, we set to unpacking my stuff and taking down the double doors, creating a giant, bathroom including, living space for me and my best friend. We hung sheer curtains that Lily had bought in our favorite colors (hers was yellow and mine was red) in the doorways instead. I pulled out my red comforter and threw it over my bed. I was moved in, and it felt great. I heard the door downstairs open and Lily sighed,

"That's them. I better go tell Mom and Dad you're moved in. Go ahead and take a nap, Mel, you've had a rough couple of weeks, I'll wake you up for dinner." She began to walk out and then she paused, "I almost forgot, welcome home, Mellie." With that she quietly closed the door, leaving me to crawl under my sheets to dream about the horrified look on Sirius' face when he had seen what his mother had done, and to hear how Regulus' future was my fault. But even though I was arguing with someone who was just like me in every way except gender, I couldn't help feel like for the first time, I was home.

Time at the Evans house flew. It leaped and bounded and bled together into a blur. A wonderful, happy, blur. But it was going too fast for my liking. During the day, when we weren't laying by the pool, we were hanging out with her neighborhood friends, down at the beach (she lives minutes from the coast, in south England). There was Hannah Martin, Thomas Dale, Megan Sanchez, and Justin Miller. They welcomed me easily and it soon became like I had always been there. At night, when we weren't sleeping at each other's houses, we were sneaking out to go to clubs, dancing with guys (or girls in Thomas' and Justin's cases), and just generally getting trashed.

It had been a month since I had gotten to the Evans' house and it seemed like a day had passed, maybe. Petunia had caught us all sprawled over my room (I was laying on the floor, passed out, Lils was curled up in the bathtub, passed out, Thomas was laying at the foot of my bed, with his head hanging off the end, passed out, and Hannah and Megan were on the floor, with their legs under my bed, and you guessed it: both passed out) all dressed in skimpy clothing. She had kicked me awake (like, literally kicked me) in the stomach, and I had awoken to a sharp pain in my abdomen, not from being kicked.

I had pulled my dress up over my hips, to reveal a belly button piercing. Shit. Petunia's eyes got huge and she grinned wickedly. I rolled my eyes at her and I got off the floor to go awake my favorite ginger from her slumber in the tub, all the while pulling my dress down, grumbling about how much I hate spandex.

"Lils get up. I have a piercing. Check yourself." She grumbled and I rolled my eyes at the other Evans sister. I bent down and whispered, "Fire, get up. Potter's here." Her eyes flew open and she looked around wildly, looking for her devoted follower.

"Where is he? How does he know where I live? It's that damn link, isn't it? Black saw where we live, didn't he? DIDN'T HE?" I smirked and she scowled at me, "What's the real reason you woke me up?" I pulled up my dress again to reveal my newly decorated stomach. Both of her eyebrows raced to her hairline. She frantically pulled up her dress, to find her belly button untouched. No nose piercing either. And I took her word for it that she hadn't gotten a clit piercing. She shrugged,

"I guess you were the only one stupid enough to get one." She pulled her hair up in a ponytail, after changing her clothes into pajamas. I had changed, opting for daytime clothes, as it was noon. I had pulled on a pair of small ripped up denim shorts, and a racer back tank top. I gasped as Lils pulled her hair up.

"Lils go look in the mirror." She turned to inspect her face in the mirror and groaned. She had pierced the cartilage of her left ear, leaving a shiny jewel in her ear

"You got one too!" It wasn't me, and it wasn't the others as they had all slipped out my second floor window quickly and quietly, promising to come back later in the day. It was Petunia. Lily turned around quickly,

"Petunia! What are you doing in here?" But she had already disappeared. I knew just where she had—

"Lily Marie! Melanie Jasmine! Get down here! NOW."—Gone.

**AND THE PLOT THICKENS. Just kidding, but next chapter, we all get to see just what it is that's Petunia's problem. I'll give you a hint: there's more than one, and you probably won't see the second one coming. ****PM me** or leave a review if you want** to guess, I bet you won't. ;)**

**Love, Stars  
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	5. Petunia Problems

**Disclaimer: I'm not JKR, I don't own- if you don't have the point, then that's your problem.**

**So, Petunia has most of the chapter, I know, ew, right? WRONG. I found it surprisingly easier to write than I thought it would be, and kind of enjoyed it. Let me know if you like her POV, because I might be coming back to her later on, (maybe summer before 7th year, or even earlier) and want to know what you guys think. Anyways, there's a lot of history and the reasons Melanie and Sirius ran away (other than the obvious) are finally revealed.  
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**As always, PM me with any questions about it or suggestions, because I'm just making this up as I go along for now.  
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**AND PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I hate to beg, but I want to know what everyone is thinking.  
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**Sorry for the long AN.  
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**Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

We looked at each other and groaned. We slowly made our way down the stairs, Lily all the while shaking her hair out of her ponytail, trying to avoid the inevitable. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were in the kitchen, food on the table forgotten. I thought Mr. Evans was going to kill someone.

"Yes Mom?" Lily muttered, eyes downcast. Mrs. Evans voice was dangerous,

"What is this Petunia just told me about _piercings_? Lilliana Evans, if you have another piercing, so help me, something horrible is going to happen." Lils shifted under her mother's gaze, She pulled back her hair around her left ear to reveal her pierced cartilage. Her mother relaxed, obviously thinking that the stud was in somewhere much more unmentionable.

"Oh, a cartilage piercing is fine, honey. Petunia, what is this you told me about a belly piercing?" Uh-oh. Petunia's face, which had fallen once she knew she wasn't going to get Lily in trouble, lit back up at the thought of getting me kicked out.

"It was her with the belly piecing, Mom!" Mrs. Evans looked at me, not that surprised.

"Melanie, is what she says true?" I pulled my top up wordlessly to reveal the dangly gold piercing with scarlet stones braided into the stands of gold that started at the top of my navel. Oh, how very Gryffindor of me. Mr. and Mrs. Evans' eyes were glued to my stomach. Mr. Evans sighed,

"Melanie, I can't tell you to get rid of it. We love you like another daughter, but if you want to keep the piercing, that is up to you."

"So, you're not mad?" He shook his head,

"No, neither of us is mad." Mrs. Evans smiled as if to agree with him.

"You're not upset whatsoever?" Lily interjected.

"No, we're not upset of disappointed, or whatever it is you're worried about. You're teenagers. You're 16, and go to a boarding school. Sweetie, I'd rather a couple of piercings than tattoos." I relaxed.

"Thank you. Thank you for understanding." They both smiled and I hugged Mr., then Mrs. Evans. They waved us off.

"Go back upstairs, you two." This was apparently too much for Petunia.

"WHAT? THAT'S ALL THEY GET? A 'THAT'S NOT THAT BAD' AND A 'YOU CAN KEEP IT IF YOU WANT'? THAT'S ALL THEY GET? IF I DID THAT, I WOULD HAVE BEEN STRUNG UP WITH CHAINS BY MY TOES! YOU LOVE THEM MORE THEN ME! SHE'S NOT EVEN YOUR REAL DAUGHTER AND YOU LOVE HER MORE THAN ME! I HAVE A SERIOUS BOYFRIEND! HAVE YOU EVER MET HIM? NO, OF COURSE NOT! BECAUSE THE NIGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET VERNON, WE HAD TO GO TO THAT HOSPITAL FOR FREAKS, JUST BECAUSE THIS BITCH WOULDN'T DIE!" Lily gasped. My mouth fell open. Mr. and Mrs. Evans stared at their daughter like they didn't recognize her. Mrs. Evans gave Petunia a look that said quite clearly what she was thinking,

"Petunia, I'm sorry you feel that way. Your sister is not a freak, and I certainly don't love one of you more than the others. We love you just as much as Melanie and Lily, and we don't want you to ever doubt that. And so you know, that 'bitch' was put in that hospital by her best friend's mother." Petunia started to walk away, "Petunia, one more thing: what you just said about your sister, and a girl we consider our daughter, was more disappointing and upsetting than what they did. You may leave." She left with her head down. I looked at Lils.

"I need to fix this alone." I followed Petunia back upstairs and quietly knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" I answered softly, trying to hide any emotion but kindness.

"It's Melanie. Can I come in? I think we need to talk."

"Go away." I sighed and sat cross-legged outside her door, determined to have her hear me.

"I'm not mad, Petunia. I'm not here to yell at you. I just want to get to know why you hate me so much. I want to know you, and I'd love to meet this boyfriend that I unknowingly kept from meeting your parents, if you'd let me."

PETUNIA POV

I slowly walked up to my room. I was so conflicted about this. I loved my parents and I was ashamed to have upset them, not that I'd ever admit it, but I also really didn't like the role that that Melanie girl was taking in my sister's life, and now my parents. I remember when I met her when she came off that freaky platform with Lily. She was this little girl, even shorter than Lily. She was all skin and bones, with frizzy dark hair and too-big blue eyes, not very pretty at all. I was a year older then them, and at thirteen, thought I was far superior. Until four boys ran up to wish them happy summers. There was a boy with glasses, a boy with mousy hair, a kind looking boy with light hair, and a cute boy with dark hair, by far the cutest out of them. He looked at Melanie with a fondness that spoke of a deep friendship. I heard something that I knew I shouldn't have.

"_If it gets too bad, you can Floo over."_

"_Sirius, you know our rooms aren't connected to the network."_

"_If they hurt you Mellie, I'll kill them."_

"_We'll be fine. I'll see you at Nocte."_

"_Ugh don't remind me."_

"_Try not to be put in the hospital. Tell Reggie I say 'hi'."_

"_Will do."_

I didn't know what was going on, but I still didn't like her. I saw how she had hugged Lily and my sister had said good-bye to her with tears in her eyes. She didn't say good-bye to me like that when I wasn't going to see her for 9 months. _9 months!_ I started to resent her, but contented myself with the fact I was prettier. Over the next few years I had a little crush on that boy I later found out his name was Sirius.

Then when they were going into their fourth year and she came over to our house and all my arguments about why I was better went away. Melanie Taylor had blossomed. She was still small, but she was curvy in all the right places, had golden-brown skin to die for, her dark hair had lost it's frizz and it hung long and straight to her waist. Her deep-blue eyes (though still big) fit her face. She was gorgeous. Beautiful. Everything I wasn't. When I saw her and my sister meet up with Sirius and the other boy whose name I think is James, I was so jealous. I saw Sirius stare at her, drinking in how she looked. She hugged him and he ruffled her hair. He piggybacked her onto the platform. That was when I began to hate her.

Then when we had to go to this hospital because she was dying, I was kind of excited. Even though I was dating Vernon, who I love, I had always wanted a boy like Sirius. I wanted to see him. I, most of all, wanted to see if she would be ugly unconscious. When I got there, Sirius was sitting next to her bed, holding her hand. I could see the tension in the set of his shoulders. When we came in, Lily ran up to him and hugged him. I heard him explain how they had tried to run away from their families together. I finally got a good look at her, and she was still beautiful. Lily thanked him again and again for saving her best friend.

Days passed and she didn't wake up. I had a cruel hope that she wouldn't. Lily stayed there all the time, never leaving her side. So did Sirius and the rest of her suspiciously good-looking friends. Five days later, we were visiting and Sirius was talking to the freak Potter's mother when she started to wake up. He begged her to wake up and she did at his voice. It was like watching a Disney movie so when my parent suggested that she live with us, I went crazy. When she laid her head on Lily's shoulder, like_ she_ was her sister, I was truly upset. _How dare she?_ When she took her shirt off to show me the scars, Sirius came in. Before he slammed the door shut, I saw the look of complete lust, and I truly hated her.

How she hugged Lily after I screamed at her made me want her dead. When Sirius brought the Potter freak to calm down Lily, I was _really_ hoping she'd die, because somehow, I knew she was responsible. But when Sirius put his arm around her, I wanted to kill her myself, because I knew then that his heart had always belonged to this perfect girl, who looked beautiful everywhere she went. Just then, my thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I snapped

"It's Melanie. Can I come in? I think we need to talk." Great. Just who I need to see: little-miss-I'm-perfect.

"Go away." I snarled

"I'm not mad, Petunia. I'm not here to yell at you. I just want to get to know why you hate me so much. I want to know you, and I'd love to meet this boyfriend that I unknowingly kept from meeting your parents, if you'd let me." I heard her say these words softly, like she meant them. I slowly opened the door to find no one there. I looked down to see her cross-legged on the floor of the hallway. She looked kind of surprised that I had opened the door. I pursed my lips at her,

"What?"

"I didn't think you would open the door." She said honestly, "Erm, can I come in, or would you like to join me down here?" I gestured for her to come in, my scowl twitching to amusement at her discomfort. She rose to her feet and I was glad to see that I towered over her. She walked into my room, observing the floral print wallpaper. She stood awkwardly in the center of my room.

That was something I didn't know about her: how unsure of herself she is. It warmed me to her slightly, but made me hate her more because it looked so endearing on her. I gestured to my wooden desk chair and she sat gingerly in it. I sat on the edge of my bed and raised an eyebrow,

"You're here. What do you want?" She paused for a moment, and I wondered of she was ever going to speak.

"I want to know you. I want to know you as more than Lils' older sister." That took me off guard.

"What do you want to know?"

"Why do you hate me? If you answer fully and honestly, I'll answer a question about myself, anything you want, if you promise that you're not planning on using it purposely against me." I guess it's fair. And you know what they say: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

"Okay. Fair enough. I hate you because, and I do hate you," she winces at the word, "because I envy how close you are to my sister. You seem like the sister I could never be to her. It makes me jealous."

"That's all?" I hesitate, and she notices,

"You know what never mind. Go ahead and ask me."

"Why did you leave home?" She sighed,

"I would have thought that you would have figured it out for yourself by now. No? Well, I left for a variety of reasons. The first of these requires a little background. In our world, people with 'pure' magical blood, as in all of a witch or wizard's grandparents were magical, are a very tight-knit group of people. They like to think that those with untainted magical blood, in other words 'purebloods' are better than those like your sister, who were born to non-magical people, or in other words, 'Muggles'. There are also half bloods with purebloods and muggle-borns in their family trees, but they aren't as important to this story.

My father's family, the Taylors, is a very old, very pureblooded family, from the States. My mother's family, the Malfoys, is a very old pureblooded family from here. Both are very powerful, both very rich" I cut in,

"Does this mean you're going to kill us all in our sleep or something?" She laughs and runs her hand through her hair, a nervous habit.

"No, I'm not here to murder you, but I'm getting to why I left, if you'll listen," I nod, "Okay, but as the years go on and less people believe in the blood purity of Wizards, there are less and less purebloods. There are some families that hold on to what they call 'the old ways'. My family still believes in the old ways, and because they want to keep their blood 'pure' they were going to force me into an arranged marriage with one of my best friends."

"Who?" She answers quietly,

"His name is Regulus Black. You know his older brother, Sirius. But recently there has been a man who believes in the old ways that has gone a little crazy. His name is Lord Voldemort. Most people are to scared to say his name and just call him You-Know-Who. But unlike anyone before him, he isn't just looking down on Muggle-borns and Muggles, but he's killing them. He has followers called Death Eaters. Regulus Black is going to be made a Death Eater in November. They are Voldemort's elite followers, his most trusted, and most dangerous. I refused to let them marry me away. The other part of it was that they weren't what I would call, understanding of a very public declaration, by a source that's never wrong, that I'm in the house that my parents despise, at school. Where my family all went to the house of the cunning, I went to the house of the brave. And it's been sliding downwards since then."

"Oh, I'm really sorry about that." And I kind of was. Weird.

"It's alright. You should know that Sirius left for the same reasons. Except you know, the marrying his brother part. Cousins happen. Brother's though, even our families' find that gross. Besides they're both boys, that wouldn't help in 'furthering the pureblooded line of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black'." I let out single laugh in spite of myself.

She smiled in gratification. The smile then fades and she looks down at where her hands are folded in her lap, "They wanted him to become a Death Eater." I gasped. Sirius, a Death Eater? I found the very idea repulsing, "He said no, as you can imagine, they took that splendidly. So, we formulated a plan to leave. Does that answer your question?" I nodded. That was a lot of information to take in, and even more to have as a burden, I guessed, "So can I ask you a question, or are you done?" I waved my hand, and she took it to mean, go ahead, "The other reason you hate me, it has something to do with Sirius. What does he have to do with me and you?" I thought about how honest she had been with me,

"After I met you guys briefly after your first year, I kind of developed a crush on him." Her face snapped up. Revelation bright in her eyes, "I saw you two were close, and I contented myself with the fact that you weren't very pretty. Sorry." She laughs,

"Don't worry about it, some things never change, unfortunately that's one of them." I looked at her like she was crazy,

"Until your fourth year came around and when you came over here I saw that you had become beautiful." She snorted, and made it look graceful. Bitch. "I'm serious. You became beautiful and I saw his face when he saw you, and I was jealous. I love my boyfriend, but I've always wanted a boy like Sirius. When we went to the hospital, I saw him holding your hand when you still weren't awake, and I hated you. I saw how you comforted Lily, and I really hated you. I saw him sit next to you and out his arm around you and that was it. I'm sorry, but it jut felt like I was being pushed aside by my parents, my sister, and the boy I have a kind of crush on." She nodded, and smiled weakly,

"If it makes you feel any better, a day before I left the hospital, we got into a huge fight. Like a swearing, seeing red, door slamming fight. Our first one in the past five years, and it's taken a toll. But I have a feeling this one's worse than others but hey, at least it effects at least one person positively." I nodded and absorbed the information. I wondered what it was over. Before I got the chance to ask she stood up, "I should probably go, I can almost feel Lily's curiosity from over here." Before she made it out the door, I spoke softly,

"You owe me an answer." She grinned,

"Save it for later. Trust me, you'll be glad you did." She softly closed to door to my room behind her as she left, and even though neither of us knew it at the time, she had left me with the most important story in the war.

**And Petunia's got a crush. 0.o What will happen next? Will Lily become a blonde? Will James finally embrace his inner drag queen? Will Petunia punch someone? And the biggest question: Will Sirius discover his love for our favorite brunette? Okay, none of that happens in the next chapter, but there _is_ more door slamming.**

**Review guys, I feel unloved again. :(  
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	6. Girl Code

**Disclaimer: All JKR's none of it (except plot) is mine... :'(  
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**Okay, Hi guys! I just want to start this off by saying thanks for the reviews :) **

** Lizaluvsdoggies:So, I'm trying to fight the Mary Sueism and in a couple chapters, shes going to have a major, blowout, screaming throwing things (ungraceful) temper tantrum, I'm making her how she is for now, to show how she acts, even if she doesn't feel like it. :) Anyways, I'm really sorry about the British thing, I know that the books are, but I'm distinctly American and I decided that I would rather write how I was comfortable with and get chapters out sooner, than have to think about what the British equivalent was of a word. I'm a don't go halfway to town kind of girl, and I just decided not to even try, I did consider it though. :)**

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**Enjoy.  
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**Stars  
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MELANIE POV

Weeks creeped by. Two weeks after my talk with Petunia, our relationship was definitely better, but still not under 'friendly'. Lily was impressed that I kept my temper. As she should be, I wanted to punch Petunia in the face through most of that talk and I don't think she ever noticed. One day, Lils, Hannah, Justin, Thomas, Megan and I were out by the pool in our backyard, when we heard the doorbell ring. Mr. Evans went and opened the door. I heard soon after that,

"Kids! Come inside!" We all shared a confused look, but got up anyways. I pulled on my bikini top anxiously. We all walked in through the sliding-glass door. Mr. Evans just said, "Just stay inside. An Auror has come to renew the wards. You can go out in about an hour, okay?" We decided to go up to our room. We were laying in the Puff, when Thomas started complaining about being thirsty. I was voted to go down and get him a glass of water. We were all still in our bathing suits.

I was leaving the kitchen when I ran straight into someone. I took a step back and blinked. It was Sirius. I dropped Thomas' glass and it bounced a couple of times, loudly (it was plastic, thank God). Water sprayed all over my legs. I still didn't move. He stared. I turned around to get something to clean up the water. I grabbed a towel and leaned down to clean it up. Sirius just stood there. I threw the towel in the sink and grabbed another (plastic) glass of water, and headed upstairs. He followed. I opened my door he stopped in the doorway. I didn't. Thomas was under Justin as they apparently had been wrestling.

"Mellie, get him off me!" I sighed,

"Justin, get off Thomas. I have his water." Justin slowly got off and then was shoved by Thomas. He skipped over and took it.

"Thanks. Owe you."

"Damn straight you do." I replied, to which he threw me over his shoulder in a Fireman's hold.

"Thomas Dale, if you don't put me down, you will be in a world of hurt." I felt his shoulder vibrate with laughter.

"What are you going to do?"

"Something unmentionable."

"And that is?"

"LILY! THOMAS IS—" I stopped midsentence because he had dropped me so fast I landed on my butt, laughing. But it was already too late, the damage had been done. Lily appeared from within the bathroom, pushing my red curtains aside. She saw Sirius and looked at me,

"Why?"

"Mr. P is the Auror apparently." I responded. She nodded. _Mel? _I ignored him. _Melanie? I'm really sorry. So, so, sorry. _ I finally turned towards him,

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Black." I hissed and slammed the door in his face. There was a lot of door slamming going on lately, and honestly, I was getting a little tired of it.

SIRIUS POV

I regretted yelling at Mellie almost as soon as I had slammed the door closed in Mt. Mungo's. So, when Mr. Potter told us he was going over to the Evans' house and that we were allowed to come, I jumped at the chance, and so did Prongs, to see his Lilyflower. Gag. He was so whipped, it was kind of sad, actually. But anyways, we apparated (well, Mr. P took Prongs and I on Side-Along). To the street Evans and Mellie lived on. Mr. P knocked on the door, which swung open to reveal Mr. Evans. He smiled and waved us in, saying him and Mr. P were going out to renew the wards. I heard laughter coming from upstairs, and a door closing.

Prongs left, saying he was going to look in the living room for his Lilyflower, and I followed the footsteps that led to the kitchen. I looked in to see Melanie. She had a dark red string bikini on, and her back was to me. She was getting a glass of water. She turned and walked straight into me, apparently not seeing me. She backed up, saw who I was and the glass fell from her hand, clanking loudly. I noticed she had a belly button piercing, that I hadn't seen before. It started at the top of her naval, from where thin gold chains hung, in the chains, were crimson stones, braided into it. I noticed absentmindedly that her scars were gone. She must have had them removed. Probably just as well I never got a good look at them

She said not one word, just got another glass after cleaning up the water, and walked upstairs. I couldn't help that I followed her. But when she entered her room, and I saw the wrestling boys on her floor, I stopped in the door way,

"Mellie, get him off me!" She sighed, and even though I couldn't see her face, I knew she was rolling her eyes.

"Justin, get off Thomas. I have his water." The boy she called Thomas was released by the other named Justin. She skipped over and took the glass from her,

"Thanks. Owe you."

"Damn straight you do." She easily answered, he responded by throwing her over his shoulder.

"Thomas Dale, if you don't put me down, you will be in a world of hurt." He laughed at her mock-horrified tone. I missed being that close to her, it made me miss my best friend.

"What are you going to do?" He taunted her,

"Something unmentionable." I saw her grin.

"And that is?"

"LILY! THOMAS IS—"she was cut off by the shock of being dropped on her butt in the middle of her room, she burst our laughing at the boy, but Evans missed that part. Evans emerged from behind a curtain and gave me a hard, unfriendly glare.

"Why?" She asked Mellie, with the air of someone deciding on how to disembowel someone.

"Mr. P is the Auror apparently." She answered her. Evans nodded. _Mel? _No answer. _Melanie? I'm really sorry. So, so, sorry. _ She finally lost her control and spun towards me.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Black." She hissed and slammed the door in my face. I suddenly knew how she had felt when I had slammed the door in St. Mungo's. I felt horrible. I slid down the wall and buried my head in my hands, I looked up when I heard footsteps. It was Evans' sister. Petunia, I think her name was.

"Are you okay?" I nodded,

"Yeah, just having a fight."

"With Melanie." It wasn't a question. I looked up at her in surprise, "she told me. She's really upset. I have the room to the right of hers and some nights I can hear her waking up from nightmares screaming and crying. Lily has to calm her down, and wait for her to go asleep." She turned to leave, leaving me feeling worse than I already did, but she turned back around to add something, "Oh, and Lily told me what she sees every night. Your little brother, Regulus and Death Eater, and you telling her all the reasons it was her fault. Just something to think about." She really did leave this time, closing her door behind her.

Then my mind caught up with what she had said, why was Mellie confiding in her best friend's sister, who she supposedly hates? I knocked on her door, "Yes, Melanie, I told him off. Now, go away." I shifted awkwardly and considered just walking away, pretending I was Melanie. Then I decided against it,

"Actually it's Sirius. I have something to ask you. Can I come in?" She hesitated but she opened her door, regardless, letting me walk in. She leaned up against the wall near her door.

"Why is it you magical folk always have something to ask me? Is it about the television?" I looked at her,

"The, erm, what?" I heard her snort and I could have sworn I head her mutter,

"Purebloods."

"Come again?" Her face turned red.

"That's what you are, isn't it? A pureblood?" I nodded. How did Petunia Evans, Muggle extraordinaire, know about Purebloods? What _had_ Melanie told her? "What do you want to know, Sirius?" Well, then.

"Yeah, uh, sure. I was just curious about how you knew Melanie. Last time I spoke to her, you hated each other. And you hated Lily, too. But if you don't want to answer, that's fine too. Better actually. Just forget it." I tried to leave but she snapped the door closed in front of me.

"No, it's fine. Last time you spoke to her, barring just now, I did hate her. I was jealous of the perfection that was Melanie Taylor." I thought about her laugh and her courage, and loyalty and silently agreed. Then I thought of her temper, her irrational hatred of liars, her family, and all the trouble she gets into, and disagreed. She wasn't perfect. She was amazing, talented, wonderful, but not perfect. Petunia sighed, "I'm assuming you saw the new body decoration?" I nodded. Oh, yeah, I'd seen it, "Yeah, well I told our folks and they kind of didn't get as mad as I thought they would, and I kind of freaked out on her. I told them that they loved a girl who wasn't even theirs more than they loved me ex cetera, ex cetera.

It really drew her attention, right? She came up here, kind of like you just did, and promised me that she could ask me anything I wanted as long as I answered her honestly. I agreed and she asked me why I hated her. I told her it was because I was jealous of her relationship with my sister." Aw, yeah! Score one for Team Sirius! But my mind was brought back to now,

"How did you know I was a Pureblood? How do you even know that word?"

"I asked her why she ran away. She told me everything. How her family follows the old ways, I think she called it, her parents attempt at trying to get her engaged to your brother, Regulus, who is becoming a Death Eater, sorry about that by the way, and your what was then, recent, fight. She told me that you had left together because your family was just like hers, and you were just like her, and so you left. I just assumed that meant your family were Purebloods too." Um, that was unlike her, to talk about her family so openly.

"Oh, okay then. Well, that's it, I guess. Thanks for—"

"JAMES CHARLUS POTTER, YOU COMPLETE ARSE!" Evans. Shit.

"I should probably go. Actually, you might want to come along." Together we went down the stairs to see Prongs nursing his right check, and if he moved his hand, I guessed there would be a bright red handprint on it. Evans was standing in front of him, her face as red as her hair. She whipped out her wand, and Mellie was there in a heartbeat.

"Fire, put your wand down, you're out of warnings at the Ministry. Don't get expelled over him. Come on, give me your wand." Evans seemed to see the logic in this through her fury at Prongs and handed her wand to the still bikini-clad Melanie. Petunia gestured her over and she obliged.

"What happened?" Mellie sighed, spinning Evans' wand in her hands,

"James asked her out."

"So? Doesn't he ask her out like, every time he sees her?"

"I believe his exact words were: 'Lilyflower, if you just admit that we are eventually going to shack up and procreate, life would be so much easier for everyone.' That was when she slapped him." Typical James, with absolutely no tact. At all. "And believe me, having those comments thrown at you several times a day for six years get on your nerves." She nodded in understanding, "Besides, he usually gets it worse than this, because when we're at Hogwarts Lils is free to hex whom and whatever she likes, legally, that is."

That was true. One time Evans had turned his skin bubblegum pink for an entire month, and refused to tell him how it was happening (potion in his body wash) or how to fix it (an antidote Slughorn could have whipped up in a second if he knew _how_ it was happening). Revenge was the ginger's forte, and when she struck, you knew exactly who it was, and what you did to deserve it.

Too bad teachers never suspected her, because of her Prefect status and perfect grades, and usually blamed Mellie (who caused a fair share of trouble on her own and wasn't a prefect like her best girlfriend, even though she had grades to rival her, maybe without all of the effort, or any of it, actually) or us instead. Mellie gracefully took the blame when it was thrown at her, and we put up a fight that no one paid any attention to, because we play our own pranks and our arguments were negated, as what happened was usually something we _would_ have done, if we had thought of it first. And so were put in detention, and 9 times out of 10 had absolutely no idea what we 'did' to get there. I laugh and add,

"Yeah, and we usually end up in detention for whatever she does." Both girls stare at me, and Evans looks up from her yelling at Prongs, pausing momentarily. I spent all of one-second wondering what I did. Then I realized: I had spoken to Melanie as I normally would, because I had momentarily forgotten our fight. Melanie sighed. Petunia randomly muttered something about going to check on 'that thing that she forgot about until now'. Women. Lily had heard it too, and drug Prongs out of the room. There had been some wordless communication between the three, and I had completely missed it, which was ridiculous, considering I had an actual mental link with her. Count on the opposite gender to have an unwritten, secret language that they _all_ knew instinctually. Once the room had been emptied, she turned towards me. I realized she was going to speak to me out loud, and I knew why: speak inside our minds required a kind of intimacy, the kind she wasn't sure if she wanted right now. I knew I did.

"You better start talking." And like that, a bubble popped inside of me and the words started to pour out

"I am so, so, so sorry. Hold on I'm not done. I regretted it as soon as I slammed the door, but I'm too bloody proud. I went back the next day, but you had already been discharged from St. Mungo's. And I had no way of finding you, as you were to far away to try to use the link. You know me, too bloody well, if you ask me. I took it out on you, and I really shouldn't have. I was so shocked and upset to hear about Reg that I lashed out. I'm not making excuses for myself. What I did was wrong, and if you never want to speak to me, I totally understand." I heard a distinctly feminine voice whisper into my mind.

**You're right. I do know you too well. I should stay mad, but I'm not. I forgive you. And I'm sorry I slammed a door in your face earlier. **_Don't be sorry. Consider us even. And let's not go this long without talking again. I loved Prongs like a brother, but he doesn't get me like my best friend. _**I'm just like you Sirius, of course I understand you. I mean I'm literally just like you. Our Animagus forms prove that. **_We're good?_ **We're good. **I grabbed her into a hug, and was glad to see that she squeezed back. I had my best friend back.

MELANIE POV

It felt really good to hug Sirius. I really didn't blame him. Okay, maybe I did a little. But I wasn't mad. I understood. I really do. In all honesty, I didn't react much better than he had. Reg and me went through a week or so where we didn't talk, and every time I saw him, I burst into tears. Or I did later, depending on if the situation allowed it. Either way, I was glad to have him back, and it would be good to get a good night's sleep again. I heard the screaming resume upstairs.

"—POTTER YOU ABSOLUTE MORON! I WOULD RATHER HAVE THE GIANT SQUID'S CHILDREN!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WOMAN? Ow! Oh, yeah sorry. I got it. Riiight. WELL, IF THAT'S HOW YOU FEEL!" We looked at each other and burst out laughing. Lily and James both just got totally busted eavesdropping.

"We should probably go up there, Mellie?" I nodded,

"Probably. Luckily for me, you get to piggyback me up there."

"I'm honored." He answered sarcastically, but didn't grumble too much. He bent down to let me hop on his back, and began to ascent up the stairs.


	7. The Dogs are Out of the Bag

**Disclaimer: You should really get the point by now.**

**Wow, this on is even longer than the others, almost 9 full pages! You guys should be really proud of me. Anyways, this is a really important chapter, because you not only get a lot of information about why they are all animagi. but you also get to see the more affectionate side of Sirius' and Melanie's relationship. The explanation for it comes in next chapter. Oh, and you get to see just how alike they are (a lot).  
**

**Lizaluvsdoggies: I'm glad to Mary Sueness was a lot less in the last one. PM if you have any questions. :)  
**

**Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

"Go in here." I whispered and pointed to Lily's door, after we had made it up the stairs. He nodded and shut the door quietly behind us. "Go through there." I gestured to the yellow curtains that separated her room from the bathroom. Through the sheers between my room and us, we could see them both with their ears pressed against the door. Shockingly, Petunia was with them, and she spotted us. I pressed a finger to my lips and she nodded and turned back to them. Sirius walked through the curtains, with me still hanging onto his back. I whispered, "1…2…3…"

"BOO!" We both screamed causing Lily and James to jump and Petunia to burst out laughing. They both stared at us and smiled seeing the close contact between us, knowing that we had fixed whatever we needed to fix. Petunia smiled but I could see the hurt look in her eyes, and I wordlessly slid off his back.

I winked at her, "Thanks for not saying anything." Lily and James looked scandalized.

"You knew Tuney? You knew, and didn't tell your own sister?" Lils had started to call her Tuney again in the past week or so. She grinned, for real this time.

"Yeah, some of us weren't completely wrapped up in eavesdropping and saw them come in the room."

"My own sister." Lils scoffed. I heard someone knock at the door.

"James? Sirius? Are you in there?" I raised my voice to answer Mr. P.

"Yeah, they're in here. Come on in!" The door opened and Mr. P walked in with Mr. Evans close behind him.

"Oh, there you boys are. Oh, hello Melanie, I'm glad to see you're feeling better." He eyed my stomach disapprovingly, and I realized I was still in my bikini, still displaying my new body decoration (as the Evans sisters call it).

I felt an arm wrap around my waist and realized it was Sirius. It had been a long time since we had been so close. He pulled me slightly closer to him, and I realized it was the protective Gryffindor in him kicking in. Like me, Sirius Black was not one to let anyone speak badly about people he cares about. Not even Mr. Potter. I was oddly touched, in a strange kind of way. James shifted slightly as well, moving in between his father and me. Oh, James, loyal and brave to the core, he's just kind of thick sometimes. Mr. P knew when to drop a subject with his sons, and I was apparently no exception, and he bit his tongue. Lily coughed loudly trying to dispel the tension in the room. Petunia pulled at a string on her shirt. **This is awkward. **_Yes. Yes it is._** James is staring at Lily. **_When _isn't_ he staring at Evans? _I giggled and James cried out,

"Will you two stop having a conversation, if you're not going to share it with the rest of us?" I smirked.

"Fine James, if you want to know so bad, we were just commenting on how you were staring at Lily, before you so rudely glared at us." His face turned bright red. Lily rolled her eyes, snickered at his face. Mr. P grinned too, then seemed to figure out the first part of what his son had said, didn't quite make sense.

"What did he mean? _'Will you two stop having a conversation, if you're not going to share it with the rest of us?' _Melanie, Sirius, is there something you want to share?" I answered,

"Er, no, not really." At the same time Sirius said,

"Nothing in particular, no." Thanks James. Douchebag. Not really, but he is an idiot.

"It didn't sound like nothing." **What do you think the odds are he'd throw us in Azkaban? **_I don't think he'd have a choice if he knew._ I bit my lip. I didn't like lying to people who I trusted and cared about. I looked at Lily and tilted my head slightly, with my unsaid question to which she nodded discreetly. **Are you sure? Do you think we should tell him? Lils thinks we should.**_ How do you know that?_** I just asked her.**_ How? No one's said a word._** Simple: Girl Code. Did you see me tilt my head a little?** _Yeahhh. _**That was the question.**_ That's impossible. No way anyone could understand that. _**It's in our DNA. She thinks we should.**_ I think if we explained, it would lead to our little Animagus secret. We wouldn't have to tell him about Prongs, Evans, Marlene, Wormtail, or Alice, if we spoke to him alone. Who knows, he might know something we don't about why we can do this. _**No, we should be honest. It won't make any sense otherwise. **_Let's do it. _**You wanna tell him we need to talk to him?**

"Mr. P?"

"Yes, Sirius?" I could see his patience was being tested. I looked at Lils and tilted my head towards her room. She nodded. Girl speak for "Can we use your room to talk to Mr. P?" just for those of you who don't know. I interrupted,

"Can we speak to you in private?" I gestured towards the curtains.

"In a closet?" I rolled my eyes.

"It's a big closet." I led him and Sirius through into the bathroom, and into Lily's room, who was snickering at my comment.

"So, its not a closet."

"No, Mr. P its not a closet." For a grown man, he was a lot like James. _I agree._ I sat on Lily's bed with my feet hanging off the end. Sirius leaned up against the bed, next to my feet. Mr. P took her desk chair. He was all business,

"What's all this about?" _You wanna start? _**You big baby. But, yes, I'll start.**

"So, Mr. Potter, you know about Remus' er, condition, right?"

"His lycanthropy? Yes, I know about it. I didn't know you did, also." I nodded,

"Yeah, well we all got a little suspicious in First Year. I found out at the end of first year, the boys during that summer, and Marlene, Alice, and Lily discovered it later in Second Year. We wanted to help Remus, to be with him during the Full Moons and we—"

"You what?"

"Yeah. Be with him during the Full Moons. We wanted too, but knew we couldn't because if he infected one of us, a) he would never forgive himself, and b) it would be the end of his Hogwarts career, or any career, for that matter."

"You weren't worried about yourselves? About what being a werewolf would do to you?" I exchanged a glance with Sirius and shrugged,

"It didn't really cross my mind. What about you Padfoot?" He shook his head no.

"Amazing." Mr. P laughed breathlessly. I decided it was time to continue,

"But anyways, we searched and searched, and right before Christmas break that year, we discovered a way to do just that. We knew it would be hard, and that it was stupid for a bunch of second years to attempt something that was discouraged for fully trained wizards and witches to attempt, even with supervision from the Ministry. And we knew that to do it, we had to do it under the radar, without the supervision that we were supposed to have, and so any chance of being registered went out the window. We got together, except Remus, who we were keeping out of this until we knew for sure it would work, and decided that the risks of the Animagus transformation were worth it to help Remus for the rest of our natural lives with his transformation." I had said it. The 'A' word. It was out of the bag, and there was a dead silence in the room.

"You tried to do what? I must have heard you wrong, because God help you Melanie Jasmine, if I didn't." I repeated myself,

"Animagus." Mr. P put his head in his hands.

"That's what I thought you said. I suppose I should be mad you tried to do something so stupid and dangerous, but I'm proud that you all even considered it. Besides it's not like you actually completed it, or even found the first step." We ignored him, and Sirius picked up,

"When I went home for Christmas I spent all of my time in the Library, looking for anything that could be even related to the transformation. All the books at school had said how dangerous it was, or how it could go wrong, but not how to do it. Not even the ones in the restricted section, which we did check, with James' cloak. So I checked my library at home, and I found something." Mr. P's head snapped up, "We had to be able to conjure a fully corporeal Patronus, first, which would show us our forms. I found the theory and the incantation and sent a copy to everyone.

Your son had it mastered by the time we were back to school after break, and Evans wasn't far behind, mastering it about a week into the new term. Within the next two months, everyone mastered it and discovered their forms…everyone except us. As children of the Dark, we had very little to be happy about, and took us longer. We both worked day in and day out to master it and about a week before the end of Second Year, we finally got it to work. We had discovered our forms. James was a stag, Lily was, ironically enough, a doe, Marlene was a lioness, Alice was a mockingbird, Peter a rat, and we were both dogs. But after that, research was slow going.

We were back in school and even though the book I had taken from my parents' library was helpful, it wasn't specific enough. We knew we had to create a potion, and after we drank it, immediately after say an incantation, which pushes the body to its soul's form (painfully). All of this was a collaborative effort discovered by us and James between Second and Third Year. If you remember, James spent all of his time in the library that summer, am I right?" Mr. P nodded. Sirius looked to me and I nodded and I continued where he left off.

"That was all we discovered up until the end of April. It had been over a year and we were all getting anxious at hiding something this big from Remus, and we were all only 13 and 14 and were just getting impatient. But just when we were so close to giving up, we were in a bookstore in Hogsmeade and we found something. The potion we needed and instructions to make it." Mr. P put his hands back over his face. I could see he knew that we had done it, seeing that none of us had died, and/or had any animal like appendages. But I could also see that he was holding onto hope that we hadn't found the incantation.

"Lily is the best potioneer and was given the job of the potion. She said that we would have to wait until fourth year to begin it; because it wasn't a potion she could exactly take with her to France for a month. It was going to take seven months to make, as it required 5 and six sevenths moon cycles to mature and took about a month to put all the ingredients in on time. We all sat around waiting for school to start when Lily started the potion on the second week of school we had renewed hope and we set off on trying to find the incantation, which proved the trickiest information to find, with Lily so wrapped up in the potion, and Remus still unaware, it was us, James, Peter, Marlene, and Alice on our own. We spent our days skipping class trying to find anything in the part of the library we were supposed to be in, and our nights in the Restricted Section, more hopeful of the books there, now that we knew what we were looking for. We took shifts, and different people went down each night: James and Peter went down, then us, then Marlene and Alice, lather, rinse, repeat. Lily was about a month away from finishing when—" Mr. P looked at us like we were complete strangers. Sirius finished my sentence,

"—We finally had the incantation. Marlene and Alice found it, scribbled into the margins next to the word 'Animagus' in a book, along with 'to finish the transformation'. That left us with an interesting dilemma: do we trust the person who wrote it into the book, or not? Evans took a look at it, and said it seemed like it should be right, the etymology was correct, at least. So we decided to trust it." I took this next part,

"But then we were caught." Mr. P's head snapped up, "With dungbombs in the Slytherin's common room. Geez, we didn't get caught with the potion. Last time I checked none of us have spent anytime in Azkaban. But we did all have detention every day up until the end of the year, except Lily, and we had to put the transformation on hold, until next year, which disappointed us, and was pulling on everyone's consciences, hiding this from Remus, for the past three years."

"You didn't care about you know, being possibly thrown into Azkaban for five years?" Sirius snorted.

"That's a stupid law, anyways. But we all impatiently waited out the summer, and about a month into term, we all met in the Room of Requirement to perform it."

"In the what?" I answered this one,

"The Room of Requirement is a room on the seventh floor that only appears if a person needs real need of it. We thought 'we need a place to do the transformation, where we can't be found by anyone' and the door appeared with just that. Sorry, Sirius, go ahead." He rolled his eyes, but continued,

" We all stood in a circle, naked, and James went first. He took a portion of the potion said the incantation, and it worked, painfully, might I add." Mr. P screamed,

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, it worked for all of us, and so, we were able to help Moony with this 'time of the month'."

"This is touching and greatly enlightening, but what does this have to do with you two having like secret conversations?" I answered,

"Well, you know how we said we were both dogs? Well, it turned out, we had the same form. I mean the exact same form. Down to tail length. Except the eyes, they were what reflected the human. Mine were blue and his grey. A couple of days passed and I started to have completely unbidden thoughts in a distinctly masculine voice. One day I had a thought about how sick I was about hearing Prongs complain about how Evans will never really love him, when I realized whose voice it was, because Sirius was the only person who calls James Prongs, with a voice that deep, who knew about what had happened. I went up to the boys' dorm and we found it. The link. So, technically, we can kind of talk in each other's heads."

"I don't believe it." Sirius stood,

"Whisper something to me. I'll tell her what it is." He whispered something to Sirius. _I sleep with jam between my toes._** What kind of message is that? **_I have no idea… _I spoke out loud,

"I sleep with jam between my toes." Mr. P's jaw dropped. I smiled, kind of scared, "Surprise. Please don't put us in Azkaban." I added that last part meekly. I hated Dementors, but then again, who doesn't? He laughed,

"I'm not going to put anyone in Azkaban, though I am intrigued by the link, you called it?" we nodded, "I've never heard about anything of that nature, but I'm certainly proud of you all for doing so much for a friend. How did Remus take it when you told him?" We answered in sync,

"He cried. A lot. Everywhere, all over us." Mr. P scratched the back of his head.

"Could I see?" Sirius replied,

"Will you arrest us?" He shook his head no. I turned and shouted,

"FIRE! JAMES! COME IN HERE!" seconds later, they both entered. Mr. P turned to his son,

"A stag, really?" James turned on us,

"YOU TOLD HIM?!" We both nodded yes.

"James. I'm not going to arrest you, I'm not even mad. I think it's a wonderful thing what you did." James relaxed. He looked to me,

"What did you need?"

"Your father wants to see our animal forms."

"Oh. Okay, that's easy." We all stared at him for a minute, and nothing happened. He looked at us all,

"What? I'm out of practice." Then everything happened at once. James dropped down to all fours and antlers grew out of his head, and a moment later, there was a stag in his place. Mr. P gasped.

"You weren't kidding. I thought this might just be a joke." Lily laughed,

"Not exactly." She shifted much quicker than James and became a doe. Sirius and I grinned at each other and shifted simultaneously into big, black, furry dogs. We proceeded to begin a wrestling match on the floor, biting and clawing at each other, playfully, never drawing blood. Lily and James shifted back. Lily brushed off her now reappeared bathing suit (we really need to change), and went to help James pull us apart.

The only problem with having identical forms was that no one could ever tell us apart, like Marlene in the photo, no one ever knew who was Melanie and who was Sirius. Lily picked up Sirius, and I heard her with my dog hearing,

"Mellie, stop trying to kill him, we all know you're going to have kids one day. You two would actually have beautiful children." I laughed internally and shifted back,

"Excuse me? Because that's news to me." Lily realized who she was holding and unceremoniously dropped Sirius the dog onto the floor, he landed as Sirius the human who stood up and laughed,

"Yeah, news to me too." Lils blushed a deep color of crimson at being caught red-handed in her teasing of her so-called best friend (that's me). I heard something thud in my room and I heard a cry of,

"Melanie? Why do you have all of this stuff?" Petunia. I was curious as to what she was talking about, as I don't remember her being allowed to go into my trunk,

"What are you talking about?" I walked into my room, with the two present Marauders, Lily, and Papa Prongs in tow. She responded,

"You said I could borrow one of your dresses for when we all went to meet Vernon." I slapped a hand to my forehead.

"I did in fact say that. And to answer your question, well actually, let me find a dress that would look good on you, and Sirius, you answer." Sirius nodded,

"See, part of the snotty Pureblood society is all the balls, galas—"

"Don't forget the weddings and funerals." I threw in,

"—Those too, and just generally fancy places. So, just as she has a lot of dresses, I have a LOT of dress shirts. And dress robes." I was digging around when Sirius threw in, "What about the one you wore to Nocte two or three years ago? The blue one." I nodded and held up a finger. I extracted the dress and held it up to her. I nodded and threw it at her,

"Mr. P? Can we do magic now because you're here and they can't tell who did what?" He nodded,

"Yes, Melanie, you can do magic while I'm here."

"Good. Petunia, go put that on." She vanished into our bathroom and came out a minute later in the ill-fitting dress. I directed her to the middle of the room. I lengthened it significantly, so it actually reached her knees and wasn't up around her ass, and brought in the chest and hips. Fortunately, we had the same waist size, and that didn't need altering. I threw her a pair of strappy blue heels and Lily did her make-up and hair expertly. The boys just watched on in awe and Mr. Potter left.

"Mellie? Do you think her hair in a loose fishtail or down and straight?" I went over and examined Petunia's face and overall bone structure.

"Fishtail braid, and darken her lip stick for God's sake, Lils." Lils nodded,

"You need to go get ready to, Mel." I sighed. I probably did. Mr. Evans came bursting in the door at that moment, in a suit, saving more for a couple more moments from the dreaded process of getting ready.

"Charlie, we would love it if you and the boys would come along to meet Vernon. Would that be alright with you, Petunia?" She smiled at her father, and I thought that her smile made her look quite pretty.

"That's fine, Dad. We'd love to have you guys." Mr. P seemed to consider it. I decided to help.

"Mr. P, I have a couple suits of Sirius' in my trunk from a party last year. I'm sure we could fix one of them to James' size." He nodded. Mr. Evans said,

"Come on Charlie, borrow one of mine." He eventually consented and the boys cheered. Lily and Petunia shooed us to Lils' room and I grabbed my trunk on the way. I extracted the suits that had somehow ended up in here when I was packing by room up and ordered them to put them on. Sirius, of course, complained,

"It's my suit… do I have to?" I rolled my eyes,

"It's been a year you moron, you need to try it on. You know what Orion always says." James looked up,

"What _does_ Orion always say?" We answered simultaneously,

"A man is only as good as his formalwear fits." I nodded my head towards my bathroom and he gave up, apparently recognizing defeat. James followed and I figured they would be in there a while, trying to figure out the cuff links, as I knew Sirius had never done his own and I doubted James had either. I took the time to get ready myself. I was digging through my dresses when I remembered the dress that Sirius Black himself had coerced me into buying. _You should wear it. _**Get out of my head. **_Fine. But you really should. _I remembered that day clearly.

We were at Diagon Alley alone, during the summer between fourth and fifth year, in a dress shop, looking for clothes for Nocte. I needed a new dress and Sirius was on the hunt for a festive bow tie. We had come across the dress; well Sirius had, and made me try it on. I had finally given in and tried it on, and had to admit, that I did look good. It was strapless and fell to my knees. It was a deep crimson (looking back on it, a lot of my clothes are red) and was tight until my waist where it floated out from down to my knees. I remembered the pain of the great Mr. Black, trying to lace up the exposed gold corset ribbons in the back of the dress without suffocating me. I had ended up buying it and another dress because I was old enough that all my dresses had to be floor length for Nocte. The last knee length one was the one Petunia was wearing right now. I looked and found it in my trunk and considered it.

"Hey Lils?"

"Hold on!" She came in about a minute later, "Yeah? What's up?" I held it up for her to see, "That's beautiful! You should wear it, oh, but now I'm going to feel like a total cow in my clothes. And where are the boys?"

"In here Evans! These elusive cuff links won't do themselves!" I laughed,

"Shut up Sirius!" I lowered my voice to speak to her, "Lily, look through my trunk, I promise you, whatever you find, you can most likely keep." She nodded and began to look with a final,

"Put that on," aimed my way. Petunia came in at that exact moment. She looked really good. The dress I had given her was knee length, and was a deep blue. It had thick straps and a sweetheart neckline. It had sequins all over the bust, from where it flowed out from.

"How do I look?" I smiled at her,

"You look beautiful, Petunia. Do you mind sitting or something so we can get ready?" She nodded and took a seat. I unabashedly started to strip in front of them, Lily not caring (we share a dorm) and Petunia mortified,

"What are you doing?"

"Changing. Look the other way if it bothers you." She looked toward the wall, "Petunia, you can look now. I'm not naked." She looked back over and seemed relieved that I had on a bra and panties. I slipped the dress on, but couldn't lace it up myself,

"Lils, there isn't any chance you're strong enough to do this is there?" She shook her head no. I looked to her sister hopefully. She gestured to her arms.

"Chicken arms. Sorry." Great. Plan B. And it didn't involve James, because I somehow doubted his parents made him dress up very often.

"Sirius!"

"Yeah?" He sounded wary.

"Can you come lace this? Lily's a wimp, and so it Petunia!"

"We are no such things!"

"Yeah, if you'll do my cuff links." He emerged with his dress shirt on and the cuffs undone. I easily did them and smirked as he gloried at my handiwork. He walked around me, his back to Petunia, and gently pulled at the ribbons, lacing them up, the softness being used to try to make up for what was coming, I think, until he got to the top, "Sorry about this, by the way." I nodded, and he yanked. Hard. I gasped and felt my lungs get squished further into my chest. I pulled out my wand and muttered a spell that would make it easier for me to breathe. I sighed deeply, no longer feeling like I was dying.

"Have I ever told you how glad I am not to be a woman?" I nodded, he had in fact told me that on several occasions. Lily called over,

"What about this?" I nodded, and waved a hand,

"Keep it."

"Thanks Mellie."

"Eh, green's not my color." I heard Sirius snicker from behind me at my thinly veiled insult at Slytherin House, and then I remembered. James. "Where's James?" We all looked at each other in alarm. James hadn't been heard from in at least ten minutes.

"James?" Sirius called out.

"Yeah?" was the muffled response from inside our bathroom.

"Are you alive?" I asked.

"Kind of. Melanie, please come help me."

"Come here. I'm not going anywhere, you lazy bastard." I heard him trip and fall and I took the time to cast a charm that made my hair pin-straight and not crunchy from the pool chlorine from earlier in the day. James finally emerged with his wrists somehow entangled with each other. I laughed and went to help him,

"Actually Petunia, can you help him? I need to do make-up." She nodded and got up to help him. James smiled sweetly at her,

"You look really pretty Petunia." She blushed and he laughed, "Relax, I'm not hitting on you, my heart still belongs to your sister. I'm just being nice." James was like that. An idiot sometimes, but he was loyal and sweet to the people he cared about. I guess he figured that since Lily was on good terms with her sister, his sweetness and loyalty should be like the transitive property, and he should be on good terms with her too.

I shrugged at his behavior and grabbed my cosmetic bag, applying light make-up, only eyeliner, mascara and some lip-gloss. I dug around some more and found my black stilettos. I slipped them on, boosting me to a lofty 5 foot 8. Well, it's five inches more than my usual height.

Sirius was shrugging on his jacket and Lily was putting the finishing touches on her eye make-up when Mr. P walked in, in one of Mr. Evans' suits, which had been magically tailored to fit him. He looked around at all of us, James was sprawling on the bed, with my feet thrown over him, Sirius was blatantly checking himself out in the mirror, Lily was obsessing over eyeliner, and Petunia looked like she didn't quite know what to do with herself. He cleared his throat and we all jumped up.

"Let's go then, you lot." We all hopped up. We were going to be meeting Vernon at some fancy restaurant somewhere just inside of London (unlike St. Mungo's which is at the heart of the city). We all somehow made it into the Evans' car (undetectable extension charm), and we were off. I was between Lils and James. Help. Me. For the next hour and a half, I was stuck between them.

The drive passed rather uneventfully, well, for Lily and James it was uneventful. She only tried to hex him twice and I only got hit with the spell she aimed at him once. It was a stinging jinx. Mr. P set it right in a minute, but my face still felt weird for the rest of the ride. I hate my life. Actually, I secretly kind of love it a lot.


	8. The Rich, Powerful, and NOT Dating

**Okay, so no one hate me, but this chapter is all in Vernon and Sirius' POVs and I'm not really sure how it ended up that way, and I know what you're thinking: "Why are there so many minor character's POV when people like Remus, Alice, and Marlene haven't gotten a chapter, ot turn or whatever?" Wellllll, it's because I have never, ever, ever, EVER seen Petunia's POV, or her future husband's (for those of you who don't know who Vernon is) POV. That and it's fun to do. **

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**Anyways, R&R guys :)  
**

**Stars  
**

VERNON POV

I was waiting for Petunia and her family to arrive outside the restaurant, when they finally showed up. Well, she had called and said that two boys and their father were coming too; they were friends of her sister, Lily, and Lily's friend, who lives with them, Melanie. They were right on time, but I had showed up twenty minutes early out of nerves.

I really liked Petunia, she was nice, smart, and didn't take much shit, which I appreciated, and I really wanted to make a good impression on her family. She was the first one out of the car. She looked beautiful, and it was obvious the dress she wore wasn't hers. The material was too nice and it looked too expensive for her middle class family. What? My mom's a seamstress.

The next person out of the car was her sister, Lily. I had never seen her sister. And she looked nothing like Petunia. The only reason I recognized her was that I had been told she had bright red hair. Her dress too, was the kind of finery that the royals wear. I noticed both sisters looked distinctly uncomfortable in the dresses.

The next person out of the car, I assumed was Melanie. She, unlike the sisters looked completely at home in such a high caliber of cloth. And her aristocratic looks, and slightly upturned nose, made her look like a possible royal. Out came one of the boys who I assumed was James, as he had glasses. He had a suit on and grinned back into the car, but Melanie pulled him away by his elbow, giving room to the next person getting out.

The last person came out, and that must be Sirius, the being the last person I hadn't seen. He was tall, dwarfing the girl of high heritage, even though she was in tall heels, but had the same haughty, slightly arrogant looks, that suggested that the suits were his. The car drove away, I assumed to park, and Petunia ran up to me, the others walking behind, snapping me out of my speculations. I tugged self-consciously at my own clothes.

I too wore a suit, but it was nowhere as nice as the ones the other boys wore. Petunia finally made it over,

"Vernon! It's good to see you! Here let me do introductions." She turned back around to introduce me to her family and friends. "This is Lily, she's my sister," I was right, the hair was a give-away, "This is James Potter, a friend of my sister. " The boy with glasses, was eyeing Lily hopefully, "This is Melanie Taylor and Sirius Black." They both smiled and the Sirius boy looped an arm around Melanie's waist. She shoved him with her shoulder and I got the distinct impression of a boyfriend and girlfriend, very much in love. They made quite the couple, both beautiful and dressed in finery, people who walked by stared at the two of them. Boys eyed her, and girls stared at her with what seemed to be envy. The girls' eyes then moved to him and looked him up and down, boys then looked at him jealously. There was also an air of power and privilege around them, laced with a undertone of something unidentifiable, that drew everyone else's eye, Melanie noticed none of this, and Sirius pulled her closer, only noticing the hungry stares she was getting, she easily leaned into his arm, when he squeezed her waist. Sirius extended a hand,

"Hey, man, you're Vernon right?" I nodded and shook his hand. Melanie hugged me lightly and smiled,

"I'm a family friend, in case you're wondering. I live with the Evans'." Sirius ruffled her hair and she flicked him off and quickly fixed her hair. An awkward silence ensued, then two men and a woman walked up, and one of the men looked distinctly like Petunia, and the other like James. The woman looked like Lily with her dark red hair. The man and woman that looked like the sisters came up to me and both shook my hand. The man spoke,

"You must be Vernon. I'm Daniel Evans and this is my wife Evelyn." Evelyn swatted his head,

"I can introduce myself, thank you very much. Hi. I'm Evelyn. We've heard so much about you." Petunia blushed red at her mother's words.

"Mom, please don't." The other man stepped forward, saving Petunia from her embarrassment,

"Hello, I'm Charlus Potter. I'm these two idiots' father." I noticed Sirius buried his head in Melanie's shoulder. "Well, I'm James' biological father. Sirius is adopted in the same way Melanie is." I realized what I hadn't identified in them earlier: strength. A hard core of strength was hidden under the silk, power, and privilege. They were both adopted. That meant their parents were either dead, or they didn't want them. Melanie spoke up,

"We ran-away." I looked up surprised. The girl seemed intuitive. Huh. I took Petunia's hand and we went inside the restaurant, her family and friends close behind.

SIRIUS POV

God, Melanie was so unaware of what was going on around her, for someone who had been groomed to lead our world. Andrew and Jasmine had raised her to cast a presence of beauty and poise no matter where she went, and she didn't even realize she did it anymore.

Head high, back slightly arched, she drew attention, and not the good kind. I noticed the looks boys were giving her, very much like what I saw at school when boys thought we weren't looking (and waiting to disembowel them if they even try), the hungry, I'm-going-to-drag-you-off-to-a-corner-to-have-sex-whether-you-like-it-or-not looks. I pulled her closer to me, trying to ward them off. She easily leaned into my shoulder, and it felt surprisingly nice, to have her so close, where she could be protected, even though she didn't need it in the least.

It was kind of sad that there wasn't much physical affection like this at school, not because of the teachers, but because of the fan club. My fan club. The head of the club was Rita Skeeter, and she was dead insane. I swear to God she tried to punch out Evans, who I'm an okay friend with, when I asked her for help with my Divination homework in fourth year.

And then there was that one time, when they all cornered Melanie because I was going with her to Hogsmeade last year because everyone else had dates (and James had detention). She was in the Hospital Wing for three days, and Pomfrey couldn't get her to stop throwing up slugs for almost six hours.

After that I threatened to tell Dumbledore about them if they messed with Mellie or Evans again. They listened, for the most part, but instead of going for the physical route of attack, they'd spread nasty rumors, that were too close to Melanie's home life for any of our likings. Mellie has no clue why they switched tactics, and I fully intend to keep it that way.

After they spread a rumor that her father hit her about a month before school ended last year, she threatened to put them in St. Mungo's, and just bypass the Hospital Wing altogether, if they did it again. It had worked for the last part of fifth year and I was hopeful that they would remember her standing threat when we went back to school in about a month.

I was pulled out of my reverie when we sat down. Petunia sat next to Vernon, with Lily on her other side, and Mellie discreetly pushed James between her and Lily. We were the spokespeople of the "Get Lily and James Together Because They Are Going to Have Beautiful Children Someday" cause. Really.

Anyways, Melanie artfully put herself between Prongs and I, apparently against anything blowing up tonight. **Behave, please. I already missed this up for them once. I don't want to do it again. **I sighed but nodded anyways. I still felt bad that we hadn't waited one more night to try to run, and had messed this up so royally for the Evans family.

The dinner when smoothly, until Vernon ran out of things to say to the others, so he looked to me, over our desert of chocolate pudding, and asked,

"So…how long have you and Melanie been dating?" Everyone, myself included, choked over their pudding and Mr. Evans even needed a few good claps on the back from Mr. P before his coughs subsided. Melanie looked at me, and I didn't need to hear her thoughts to know she was thinking exactly what I was: what the living fuck? Vernon looked alarmed like he was about ready to be executed. I scratched the back of my head and Melanie's face turned bright red. _Aww, is someone embarrassed? _**Shut up.** I answered,

"Er, Vernon, we're not dating." His mouth opened slightly,

"Oh, uh, that's embarrassing." Melanie quickly recovered,

"Please, don't worry about it. I'd date Sirius if he wasn't such a man-whore and he didn't have a fan club at school. But, alas, Rita Skeeter has stolen his heart, for better or for worse—"

"And it's for worse." I heard James whisper. Mellie ignored him.

"—That girl has completely enraptured him. And I am just a friend zoned companion." She finished her speech with flailing arm motions and a dreamy voice. Vernon looked like he didn't quite know what to think of this. Evans decided to help him out.

"We go to a boarding school in Scotland, and Sirius does in fact have a fan club. The president of the clubs name is Rita Skeeter. You're not the first person to think that they're dating. They would be a beautiful couple though, wouldn't they?"

"Hey!" We both protested.

"It's true you two, and I know your arguments, both of you. You don't treat each other any different than you do me, Mel, or Potter, Sirius, but everyone knows that Potter is not, under any circumstances, gay, and that Mel, you and I aren't lesbian lovers. But you two are very physically affectionate with your friends, like handholding, piggyback rides, putting your heads in each other's laps, sharing beds, the whole nine yards. Especially each other, which make for juicy rumors, for God's sake Mel, I think you even have an old, cut up jersey of his somewhere in your trunk! Like look at you now!" I realized I had an arm slug over the back of Mel's chair and she had her hair draped over where my arm was positioned, and I had been absent-mindedly playing with the ends of it between my fingers. Oh. Evans had a point, but neither of us moved.

"You two are both attractive, the same age and from very powerful, very rich families: the kind of people that like to arrange marriages to have attractive, powerful children. Thus how you two came to be. I know you both aren't like that, but that's how it looks." She turned her attention to Vernon again; "Rita Skeeter likes to make believe they're dating so she can be rude and obnoxious to Melanie in as many ways possible. One time she spread a nasty rumor, another she even ran an article in our school's newspaper." Mel huffed,

"She even put me in the Hospital Wing last year, that bit—sorry, Mrs. Evans."

"Melanie was just joking because if there's one person Sirius doesn't like, it's Rita Skeeter. Right Sirius?" I nodded,

"Crazy that one. All she does is say: 'Oh, sure I'll stop harassing Evans and Taylor' and then she just changes tactics." Mel's eyes narrowed and she turned to face me. Uh-oh.

"When did that happen?"

"Er…you were in the hospital wing last year and I told her to cut out the crap. That's when the rumors started, because I told her something unmentionable was going to happen if she put you or Evans in the Hospital Wing again. Please don't get mad, you were in there for a long time. I was worried that you were going to be throwing up forever." **We're talking about this later.**_ I know, but come on, they were slugs. SLUGS, Mel. They were coming out of you for SIX HOURS. What was I supposed to do?_ She waved me off,

"Anyways, that's who Rita Skeeter is." Vernon nodded and seemed to digest this information.

"Okay. I'm just sorry that I assumed that. In all honesty, I assumed you were a couple from the way you looked at each other." I tilted my head slightly, and Mel did the same. All of a sudden, a flash went off and I heard Mrs. Evans exclaim,

"I'm sorry that was just too cute! You two have the same mannerisms!" Mr. P coughed loudly at that, and James kicked him under the table.

"Ow!" Mr. P exclaimed. And like that, that line of conversation was dropped.

Thank God.

**Oops, Vernon didn't know that they aren't dating. Aren't dating...yet. They still have a long way to go. ;) And I guess Rita Skeeter is crazy. Actually, I KNOW she's crazy. I can't wait to write Valentine's Day at Hogwarts with her and the fan club, ahh, nothing's more fun to write than obsessive girls. Unfortunately, that's a long ways away. :(**

**R&R guys.  
**


	9. The Potions Assignment

**Disclaimer: yada yada etc. JKR  
**

**Hi again! So, this is the chapter that is used to speed up the rest of the Summer, and the next chapter is the journey back to Hogwarts (finally, I know), anyways, there's a lot of letters at the end and the bold is Melanie and the Italics are everyone else. Ahh, at the end of the chapter, I'll give you guys a sneak look at the almighty chapter 10.**

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW (special thanks for Lizaluvsdoggies for reviewing like EVERY chapter) I want to know what you think, if you have any questions, PM me, or just review.  
**

**Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

LILY POV

On our way home, Melanie made sure not to sit between me and Potter, not like I could blame her, but we were too tired to do anything, anyways, it was just about midnight. We were halfway back home when Mellie fell asleep, between Sirius and me, not that I could blame her, she had been up again last night, screaming about Regulus becoming a Death Eater. I heard Dad say that the Potters were going to be staying the night, because it was too late to send them back home. Potter made some gurgled response like,

"Mhmmm—foood—Wha…" and went back to drifting off asleep. I looked back over to see Sirius asleep, too. I decided to catch a little shuteye, and before I knew it, we were home. Potter woke me up.

"Lily. Get up. We're back." I mumbled something and had the sensation of being lifted. I drifted back to sleep before I was even in the house.

SIRIUS POV

I didn't even bother trying to wake Melanie like Prongs did. I knew her too well to think that she was going to get up and walk into the house on her own; she slept too deep for that. I picked her up, bridal style and carried her into the house. I was going up the stairs, thanking God that I had muscles from Quidditch, when she began to stir. She wiggled around, and groaned in her sleep. I walked into her room and I tired to wake her up,

"Mel. You need to get up, I can't change your clothes for you." She waved a hand that carelessly fell onto her chest. I sighed, and accepted defeat of having to change a fully-grown woman. I placed her on her bed and undid the ribbon on her corset gently, not wanting to wake her up. It was fully undone and I wiggled it out from under her, leaving her in her bra and panties.

I realized that she just had concealment charms on her scars. They were still very much there, and the charms had faded off. I went and dug through her trunk, and remembered Evans saying she had one of my old shirts in there. I found it (it had been cut so it rode just below her belly button, and the neck had been cut away, making it fall down one shoulder), and a pair of sweatpants. I managed to get her back in clothes and under her covers when she (finally) woke up, just as I was walking towards Prongs, who had just appeared in her doorway

"Sirius?" I turned back towards to bed,

"Hm?"

"Can you stay tonight? I don't want the nightmares." I looked at Prongs. He waved his hand, and I knew that meant, do what you have to. I nodded and he left, closing the door behind him. I threw off my jacket and dress shirt and Prongs came back with cotton bottoms, which I thanked him for. I stripped out of my shirt and dress pants and pulled on the cotton bottoms. Melanie was watching, more-or-less awake. She scooted over and patted the bed. I hesitantly lay down next to her, and I heard her murmur,

"You're a really good friend, you know that? But don't let it go to your head." I chuckled and she laid her back against my chest, and fell to sleep, almost immediately. I wrapped an arm around her waist and I wasn't far behind.

MELANIE POV

I woke up for the first time in a month, without having the nightmares. I also woke up with someone else in my bed. I was lying on a warm chest, which was moving slowly, so still asleep. I wondered who it was, then I remembered that I had asked Sirius to stay.

So _that's _who it was, and I was not that surprised to find that I was totally okay with that. Lily hadn't been kidding last night; we did share a very affectionate relationship, more likely than not built from a distinct lack of affection as children on both of our ends. I just lay there for a while, until Sleeping Beauty himself decided to wake up. His arm tightened around my waist, and he made a strange moaning sound that caused me to giggle.

"'Ello." I smiled,

"Hi, yourself. Is this how you treat all the ladies? By sleeping in their beds, _in their own house_?" I joked.

"It's nice not to have the Estate be your house. Because that means Grimmauld isn't mine." I nodded, and he poked me in the face, "Sleep well?" I nodded,

"First time all month I haven't had the nightmares. It was good to get a sold night's sleep."

"Good, you know this is rather peaceful, and Prongs hasn't come bursting in yet."

"Does he even know where you are?" He nodded,

"He brought me these lovely pants last night." I laughed at his worn out Snitch pajama pants,

"Oh, they're nice. I think that's what I'm going to get James for his birthday: new pajamas."

"Hey! I have great pajamas!" I pulled myself up to look over the broad shoulder of my sleeping companion and grinned at James,

"Sure you do James, sure you do." He grinned wickedly,

"Well, if you want to be a smartass, I'll just have to—LILY! COME LOOK AT PADS AND MELANIE!" We both shouted simultaneously,

"NO!" Lils came bursting through the curtains that led to our bathroom. She looked at us, in what I would imagine looked like a very compromising situation. Lils smirked and pulled the covers off, revealing our tangled limbs. I groaned,

"It's Collllldd, Lils give me back the covers." At the same time there was a complaint from behind me,

"Prongs, give 'em back." James and Lily (those little bitches) refused, and instead took a picture. Mrs. Evans came in next and squealed,

"Aw! This is just too cute!" I groaned and covered my eyes with my forearm,

"Yeah, just fucking precious, aren't we Padfoot?" Sirius snorted at me.

"Melanie!"

"Sorry Mrs. Evans."

After that the time started to slip and slide by again, unlike the weeks that had crawled before I had made up with Sirius. The only difference was that now I was writing to the boys nonstop.

_Mellie,_

_I heard you and Pads finally made up. Oh, good. All he ever did was bitch in his letters about your bloody pride, and his stupid ego. I'm glad that you two finally apologized and moved on. How are the Evans'? Have you finished your Potions essay? Don't expect an immediate response if you reply, the Full Moon is about three days out from when I'm writing this._

_Stay crazy,_

_Remus_

**Moony,**

**I am first and foremost insulted that you think that I have finished my Potions assignment. What kind of person do you think I am? An overachiever? Please. Anyways, the Evans' are great and I'm having an awesome time here. **

**About a week ago, Prongs and Padfoot dropped over with Mr. P and Lils slapped him again. James that is, not Mr. Potter. Speaking of him, we made him aware of our (not yours, he already knew btw) conditions, which I won't speak of, because we all know that our owls can get intercepted at anytime because of this dumb war. Keep safe, try not to hurt yourself too badly tomorrow, and know that we'd all be there if we could be (yes, even that little git Sirius, who I am now friends with again).**

**Be Strong,**

**Mellie**

_Mel,_

_Have you done the potions assignment? I'm really stuck. I forgot the properties of gillyweed. Help me._

_Padfoot_

_P.S. Do you by any chance have my beater's bat in your trunk? I can't find it anywhere._

**WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK I HVE THE POTIONS ASSIGNMENT DONE?! And yes, I do have your bat, why was it in my trunk?**

**Figure it out yourself,**

**Mellie**

**Wormtail,**

**Goodness, it's been too long since I've heard from you. How are your mom and sister? I hope the war hasn't gotten to you over in Ireland yet. I don't know if you're getting the Prophet, but the death toll is rising daily, and the Dark Mark is in the sky nearly just as often. Muggles, Muggle-borns, and now half bloods are starting to disappear from their homes and jobs. Keep your family safe, especially Jill; she's too young to understand.**

**Keep your eyes open,**

**Mel**

_Melanie,_

_The war has gotten to us over here, as a matter of fact there was a Wizarding town attacked not 20 miles from here last week. Jill isn't allowed to leave the house, unless she's with me or Mom, so rest assured: she's safe as can be. I heard you and Padfoot kissed (figuratively) and made up, which is great for the rest of us (and you too), because I'm sure Prongs or Moony have told you about his non-stop whining, already. Schools back in about a week, have you gotten your letter yet? I haven't, but I'm always last because of where I live. Got to go, Mom wants me to help in the shop._

_Try not to kill Sirius,_

_Wormtail_

**Lilypad,**

**Please go out with me. I'll pay good money.**

**Potter a.k.a. James**

_James,_

_Hi, it's Melanie. Lily read your letter screamed, "Fuck him!" and ran out of the room, sleep with one eye open, buddy. See you in a couple days,_

_Mel_

And of course the girls too, I wasn't as close to Marlene and Alice as I was to Lily, but we were still best friends.

_Mel,_

_How's the Evans household? Better than your old one? God, I hope so. I just got back from France and thought I'd let you know that I'm officially 5 foot 9 inches._

_Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to let you know that I got the cutest picture of you in the mail from Lily the other day. I didn't know that you had one of Black's Quidditch jerseys in your possession._

_Tell Lils I'm sorry for ratting on her,_

_Marley_

**Marles,**

**I'll pass along your message before I kill Lily. And yes, I do have a Quidditch jersey and I don't want to hear shit about it. Oh, and I hate you for being so tall.**

**Mellie**

_Mel,_

_I miss you and Lily, even though I did get quite the picture of you and the older Mr. Black, from Lils. It's really quite cute. I know Marlene just became 5 foot 9, I just became a hugely impressive 5 foot! Aren't you proud of me?_

_Al_

**Alice,**

**I'm glad to see that you have officially hit the 5 foot mark and it will be cause for celebration when we get back in a couple of days. Oh, I'm going to go kill Lily now. Again.**

**Begging you to bail me out of Azkaban later,**

**Mellie**

**A.N.  
**

**Of course Lily can't keep her trap shut about the picture...  
**

**Anyways, sneak peak at next chapter...  
**

_"You DARE speak his name? You DARE? You dare speak the name of the greatest wizard of all time?" I snorted, and my mother winced at my lack of manners._

_"Tom Riddle isn't the greatest wizard of all time. He's nothing more than a coward who hides behind his Death Eaters to do his dirty work." I snarled at her. Walburga's lip curled,_

_"Who is then? Dumbledore?"_

_"Dumbledore is not only a better wizard, but a better man." That wasn't me. It was Sirius. We all looked at him. His mother whipped out her wand and pointed it at his face._

_"Did anyone ask you, Blood Traitor?" And my control snapped._**  
**

**Dun-dun-dunn and what will happen next?**

**Oh, and did anyone catch the Bellatrix line? ^^^ I guess insanity does run in families. 0.o...there was a Harry line in there too "A better wizard, a better man." Hmm, great minds (or lack thereof) think alike? Any guesses?  
**


	10. The Black Family Reunion, er, sort of

**Disclaimer: You got it by now, I hope.**

**So I just want to say thanks to my reviewers last chapter (Yay, you guys!) **

**And also, this is the best kind of chapter, the one where they FINALLY get to start their 6th year. So, ENTER Hogwarts. Also, the Black family makes a reappearance (Sirius, Regulus, Walburga, Orion, and Narcissa, along with Lucius, whose kind of a Black).**

** Next chapter is going to be how they all met, which I'm REALLY looking forward to writing today and tomorrow.  
**

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**Enjoy,  
**

**Stars  
**

I sent that last letter when I was waiting for Lily to finish packing for school. In typical overachiever fashion, she had thrown all of her books all over her room, after reading them over, and over again. I swear her copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ is going to disintegrate if she reads it again. In typical underachiever fashion, mine were stowed away next to Sirius' beater bat in my trunk and had been there for the past weeks.

In all honesty, I had already chewed her out for sending the misleading picture to all of our friends, well, our mutual ones, at least. And that was concerning, that I had heard nothing from Reg or Cissy since the night I left, over two months ago. And no matter what I did, I couldn't shake the feeling of Regulus' lingering, confused, stare, boring into my back, as I turned against everything he had always held as sacred, and worst of all, true.

I was also kind of surprised that I hadn't gotten anything from my darling family. I supposed they were too busy trying to get Katie ready for the upcoming school year to care. Katie, whose full name is Hecate, ironically enough, is two years behind me, entering fourth year, in Slytherin House. She was a 'much better daughter', as I was always told, but I had also heard Mother and Father discussing how hard it would be to find someone willing to marry her. Genetic lottery for brains? She won. Genetic lottery for family beliefs? She won that one too. Genetic lottery for looks? Apparently not. When Sirius, Reg, Katie, and I had been little, we had always heard what a beautiful couple Sirius and I would make, and so the hatred my little sister had for me began, jealous of the looks I supposedly have (don't ask me, I don't see it. I just work with what I got).

That's why even though I had been the child from Hell, my parents, Walburga, and Orion were always pushing for me to marry one of the Black sons. At first, when we were all little, there was a betrothal agreement between the heirs of the Taylor, and you guessed it, Black names. So, technically, Sirius and I were, when we were three, engaged. Or rather promised.

Then when I…well, after certain incidents that I was involved in, when I was eight, the Blacks called off the engagement. Sirius still doesn't know why it was called off, but I do, my parents and sister do, and Remus suspects. The others don't even know about it, to the best of my knowledge, unless Sirius told James, which I would be completely unsurprised if he had, just for someone to confide in.

Anyways, the event that called off the agreement, had signaled just how different from my family I was: I had seen someone suffering, and compassion, self-sacrificing actions, mixed with the uncontainable magic of an extremely powerful eight year old, had flagged me as trouble, and even though my parents were in denial, Sirius' weren't and they called it off as soon as word had traveled to Walburga Black's gossiping ears. Because as a matter of fact, it had labeled me as something worse than a rebel in their eyes: a Gryffindor-to-be.

"LILLIANA EVANS, IF YOU'RE NOT DONE HERE IN ANOTHER 5 MINUTES, WE'RE TAKING YOUR BEST FRIEND, AND LEAVING WITHOUT YOU." Mrs. Evans screeched up the stairs at her youngest daughter.

"I'm coming!" And sure enough, Lily came bounding down the stairs not 30 seconds later. I laughed and playfully shoved her as she dragged her trunk down to the bottom of the stairs. Together, along with Petunia, who had actually agreed to come to see us off without a fuss, climbed into the back of the Evans' car.

When we reached King's Cross, Lils and I clambered out and grabbed out trunks, as Petunia usually never wants to get out of the car, from here on out, we were on our own, almost every year. But this time, Petunia got out with us, and walked with us, laughing at the people we were pointing out, as we had told her about the things they had done, and who-liked-who. I ran through the barrier first, and Lils and Petunia weren't far behind. I ran head long into Mr. and Mrs. P. and their boisterous sons.

"Mel!" I laughed and hugged James.

"Mellie!" I stuck my tongue out at Sirius, but hugged him too, anyways. He chuckled and hugged me back, loosely, relaxed, then I felt him tense up.

I turned around to see my parents, along with Orion and Walburga (who was sporting a on one of her arms, a sling, compliments of yours truly, I guessed). Katie and Reg were nowhere to be seen, I assumed they were off with their friends. My mother caught sight of me and started to make her way over. Sirius, who had let his arms drop from our hug, placed one around my shoulders, and gripped the skin on my arm quite tightly, and James discreetly pulled out his wand. Lily, who had just arrived, along with Petunia, also pulled out her wand, ready to hex her, if need be. I heard her whisper to Petunia,

"Say nothing and act invisible, these people will kill you without a second thought. Do you understand?" She mutely nodded, and maybe in another world, I would have found it surprising that the elder Evans girl listened to her younger sister, but not now. I was too wrapped up in my parents, along with the Blacks, who were coming right towards us.

"Melanie."

"Mother."

"You have disgraced us. Your little stunt of leaving was inexcusable. How DARE you? YOU HAVE DISGRACED THE NAME OF OUR ANCESTORS, AND OUR KIND." I started to see black and red pulling at the edges of my vision, giving my world a slightly tunnel-vision look. I noticed the people staring.

"No, Mother, I have not disgraced our kind, you have. We have very different ideas about what disgraces the name of Taylor, Malfoy, and by extent, the Magical community. All you do is lord power over people, most of whom you've never met in your life. I know what you want for me, and I will fight, but I assure you, it won't be for you or Voldemort." Walburga's face turned bright red,

"You DARE speak his name? You DARE? You dare speak the name of the greatest wizard of all time?" I snorted, and my mother winced at my lack of manners.

"Tom Riddle isn't the greatest wizard of all time. He's nothing more than a coward who hides behind his Death Eaters to do his dirty work." I snarled at her. Walburga's lip curled,

"Who is then? Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore is not only a better wizard, but a better man." That wasn't me. It was Sirius. We all looked at him. His mother whipped out her wand and pointed it at his face.

"Did anyone ask you, Blood Traitor?" And my control snapped.

"Want a rematch Walburga? Because I'm pretty sure I ended up on top last time."

"Lies." She hissed.

"Really? Because last time I checked, I wasn't the one who got left, tied up and stunned, in a stairwell in my own house by a couple of teenagers, who aren't even legally allowed to use magic. Ah, I see my handiwork still survives." I gesture to her sling, "You can leave now." The last sentence was dismissive, the tone I had heard her use on her house-elves. I knew she recognized it and wanted to kill me (literally) for it, but had no option to stalk off, her husband, and my parents trailing behind her.

Once they were away I felt a gentle push on my mind, _Mel? Are you okay? _I nodded slightly, still in a suspended state of panic and anger. But I knew the real answer, and I think he did too: No, I was most definitely not okay.

"Evans, take her to the usually compartment, leave your trunks. We'll take care of it." I felt the arm around me leave and another, smaller one, replaced it. I snapped out of my daze and hugged Petunia tightly before I allowed Lily to lead me onto the train.

I was taken to our usual compartment, in the middle of the train, and by default, the busiest part. The Marauders loved the middle of the train, because they just love people. Everything about people they all adore, the noise, the life, and the laughter you can hear through the glass as we head up to Scotland. Honestly? I loved it too. And so did the girls, so it was a win-win.

When James and Sirius showed up (finally), I had been reduced to shaking and silently crying. Lily was just staring at me, apparently unable to think of a way to get the shaking to stop.

I knew the truth deep down: Lily couldn't get it to stop. There was one only one person who could calm me down, and back me off the edge of where I was, and I had just yelled at her aunt.

"Go get Narcissa."

"Evans, have you lost your mind? My cousin?"

"Sirius Orion Black, you go get her and bring her here goddammit, or I will. Do you understand?" The last words slipped out of her mouth as a hiss. Sirius recognized defeat and opened the compartment door, slamming it shut behind him.

SIRIUS POV

The things I do for these people. Really, I knew Narcissa and Mel were friends, but I didn't know that they had that intimate of a relationship. Which, again, is totally unfair, we do share a link after all. I trudged down to the Slytherin car, where they all sat and gossiped. I checked one of after another until I found Narcissa…with my brother and Hecate. Great.

I sighed and opened the compartment door and they all looked up, shocked.

"Oh, look Regulus, it's your brother, come to finally get rid of those Mudblood loving blood traitors of yours, have we?" I ignored Hecate and looked straight as Narcissa.

"It's Melanie. She had a little er…run in with her family on the platform," Narcissa's hard shell cracked for a minute and I saw the deep concern in her eyes. My brother looked concerned too, "and Lily said to come get you." She nodded and rose. She looked to Regulus and nodded, and quietly murmured,

"If you won't ask questions about why she did as she did, you can come." He nodded and they both followed me to our compartment. I opened the door, which someone had pulled the blinds closed over, to see Melanie still shaking and quietly crying. As soon as the door closed, Narcissa's resolve cracked and she ran over to hug her tightly. Regulus followed slower and when she caught his eye, he smiled and gave her a hug too. The rest of us just watched in amazement.

MELANIE POV

When I saw Cissy come in I smiled to myself, Lils knew me so well. She ran over to hug me and I gripped her hard around the shoulders. I glanced up to see a younger, darker Sirius. Then I realized: it was Reg. He smiled and come over to give me a hug. I held on for a long time, and Cissy whispered,

"Just get it over with, Mellie. Let it out now, we all love you and want to support you." And that did it. I began to really cry, unfortunately, into poor Regulus' t-shirt. It was an ugly cry, something most people in the compartment (James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Marlene, and Alice) had never seen from me. I was snotting everywhere and sobbing loudly, so loud I heard someone put silencing charms on the walls and door. I cried into Reg's shoulder, who was saying something along the lines of 'it's okay' over and over again, as Cissy rubbed my back soothingly. It lasted half an hour, and then it was over.

I just stopped. That's what happens. I cry, a lot, and then it stops. And I can't cry anymore. I looked around, and everyone was wearing matching looks of astonishment (except Cissy and Reg) that I had so randomly stopped sobbing loudly. I smiled at both of them,

"Er, thank you, I think." They both laughed and Cissy answered,

"Don't worry about it. I have some news though, and neither of you are going to like it." I was listening while watching the Black brothers have a stare off in the corner. I looked at her and so did Reg, "I'm engaged." I smiled, I wasn't happy, but I could do nothing about it, "To Lucius Malfoy." The smiled vanished really quick at that. My cousin. Engaged to my cousin.

"WHAT? YOU ARE _NOT_ ENGAGED TO MY DICK OF A COUSIN!"

"OVER MY STONE, COLD, DEAD BODY, CISSY, WILL YOU MARRY HIM." We screamed at the same time. Everyone else in the compartment looked rather alarmed, rightly so, they probably have never seen so much emotion from the two Slytherins before. I stood before anyone could stop me,

"Where is he?"

"Why?" She looked wary. Rightly so, might I add. I smiled brightly and extracted Sirius' beaters bat from his bag (I guess he went through my trunk, that asshole).

"No reason. Just want to give him a few pieces of advice." With that I stormed out, beater's bat in hand. I found the compartment Lucius and my bitch of a sister were sitting in and I barged in, waving the bat around unpredictably. They both looked interested, if not surprised, eh, they are related to me. I grabbed Lucius up by his fancy shirt collar and slammed him against the compartment door, moving so my face was about 6 inches from his.

"Listen, you dumbass, I know big words confuse you so, I'm going to make this as easy to understand as possible: You hurt Narcissa, you touch her the wrong way, you _breathe_ on her the wrong way and I don't like it, I knock you so hard in the balls with this thing, you can kiss any chance of kids goodbye. For good. Comprende?" He nodded and I tossed him down into the seat he had been in, and without further ado, walked back to my family and the compartment they were waiting in, for me to return Sirius' bat to him. Regulus, to my surprise, was still there, along with Cissy, Reg snorted,

"Did you threaten to take away his reproductive abilities, again?" I tossed Sirius his bat and he flicked me the bird. I cheerily flipped him back off as I answered his younger brother,

"Of course I threatened his reproductive abilities, Reg, do you really even have to ask? Except this time swung your brother's bat around and acted all unstable and shit." Cissy snorted,

"You _are_ all unstable and shit." I threw my arms up in the air as I flopped down on top of the two Slytherins, my feet on Cissy and my head on Regulus.

"Oh, thanks guys, friends since diapers and all you can say is 'you're unstable'. Wow, those are some true friends right there. Besides, you bunch have no room to throw that around. I've seen my fair share of tears and insane fits from both of you." They both rolled their eyes and simultaneously dumped me on the floor.

Together the Slytherins rose,

"We should be getting back, your sister will begin wonder where we are. Somehow I doubt my betrothed will." I groaned and covered my ears from my position on the floor,

"Good God Cissy, please don't call him that." She smirked and left, Reg turned and with a final wink as a goodbye, he too left.

James was the first one to speak,

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Remus laughed dryly,

"Yeah, who knew Slytherins had senses of humor?" I frowned up at him, because I was still lying on the floor, where I had been dumped. Lily nodded thoughtfully,

"Yeah, I've never seen you act like that. It's kind of like you were going back to being a kid." I smiled and gratefully accepted the hand Marley gave me up,

"Yeah, they're pretty much my whole childhood wrapped up into people. You have no idea how hard it was when Cissy was sorted into Slytherin. It broke my heart that she was going to be living with people who were going to hate me." I sighed, "Then the next year I had a little hope Regulus would be in Gryffindor, or at least Ravenclaw, because of you, Sirius, but no, he too was put in Slytherin, and it made me feel quite alone, and out of touch with my childhood, most of the time. So I usually at quite like a child when I'm with them." I looked up when I heard a knock on the door. It was Rita Skeeter. Sirius dove behind me, like the big baby he is, when he caught sight of her.

I noticed she was in her school robes, which meant that our little encounter had taken longer than I thought it did. Marley was in the humorous mood and waved for her to come in. She smiled brightly at the newcomer

"Hey Rita! How was your summer?" Rita ignored her and was staring at me, or more accurately, the person behind me. Uh-oh.

"Oh, hi, Siri. Didn't see you there." _Dear baby Jesus I hate that stupid nickname. _**Okay Siri-poo. **_I hate you._** You love me. **_Yeah, yeah, shut it Taylor. _When she was ignored, she turned her attention to me. Fuck. "Hey Melanie," She used my name with a tone that made it an insult, "is it true that you have sex with both of the Black brothers?" Her eyes widened fake-innocently and I stood up, Sirius clinging to my waist, trying to hide.

"No Rita, that isn't true, and if you recall our little chat we had about you spreading rumors about Lily and I, you'll also recall, I usually make good on my promises. So you can take your obsessed, nasty, well-used ass out of here." I smiled and her eyes widened in shock. She left and I sat down, shoving Sirius back into his own seat. Remus looked up from the book I hadn't even noticed he was reading,

"We need to change. We're almost there." We all sighed and began to change, unabashed. Only Lily, who hadn't spent Easter Break at the Potter's last year hesitated.

"Are we Seriously just going to change in front of a bunch of guys?" I nodded,

"Yeah, I don't see the point in all the secrecy after Easter Break."

"What did you do over Easter Break?"

"Got really drunk and went skinny-dipping in James' pond. Too bad the house elf caught us." I laughed at the memory. When we had changed, we only had to wait about 45 minutes before the train came to a halt. We all exited and somehow pushed ourselves into one carriage. I was craning my head when it finally came into view, Hogwarts. We were back. And it felt great.

**Get ready for the flashback. :)**

**R&R or PM me if you want.  
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	11. Way Back When Part 1

**Disclaimer: Yada yada yada yada**

**Okay, so i decided to split up the flashback for two reasons: 1. It seemed like a better place to stopvthan shoving the sorting in here too and 2. I ran out of time, thanks to my 25 pages of AP Enviro notes due tomorrow.  
**

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**The rest is coming tomorrow, but for now,  
**

**Enjoy.  
**

I remembered the first time I had seen the castle, looking at it now…

_A young girl was walking slowly out of the Slytherin compartment, when two boys knocked her over, but even at her tender age of 11, she was far more scarred, emotionally and physically than most adults. The glanced back and laughed, but when she looked up to meet their eyes, one of the boys stopped._

"_Mellie? Mellie Taylor?" She sighed. Of course, just her luck. She smiled anyways._

"_Yup," she popped the 'p', "And you're Sirius Black." The other boy, who Melanie recognized as a Potter but didn't know his first name, spoke,_

"_Come on, Sirius, she's just a stuck-up pureblood." She frowned at him and Sirius waved a hand dismissively,_

"_I don't think so. Little Mellie here tends to surprise people, yes James, even our parents can be surprised," he turned to the girl on the floor and offered a hand to her, "You can come sit with us if you promise not to hex us, or preach Pureblood." The girl laughed and took the hand easily._

"_Sure, sure. No hexing or preaching from me, I promise. Unless family comes in, then it's every man, or woman, for their selves." She joked. James was put at ease, seeming to recognize the preexisting friendship between the two. _

_Together, the three walked into a compartment and sat down, becoming more at ease with each other, getting to know people so unlike them. A girl with flaming red hair and a rather greasy boy walked into the compartment. They sat by the window and were arguing quietly when the others in the compartment heard him say,_

"_You better be in Slytherin." James snorted and the other two Purebloods winced._

"_Who'd want to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave." A shadow passed over both of the others' faces,_

"_Our families have all been in Slytherin. Since like, forever." The boy who had entered with the redhead looked at them,_

"_What are your last names?"_

"_I'm Melanie Malfoy-Taylor and this is Sirius Black." The boy's eyebrows shot up._

"_I've heard you called the Prince and Princess of Slytherin. The heirs to a pureblooded world, etc." They both gagged simultaneously,_

"_Don't remind me." They both said darkly. Melanie sighed,_

"_You know what, James? I think I might drop out too if I was put in Slytherin. I'm sick of my parents and their shit," James' eyebrows shot up and Sirius mouthed at him, 'told you she surprises people'. "Where are you going if you get the choice?" James raised an invisible sword,_

"_Gryffindor, where the brave at heart dwell." The other boy snorted and James turned on him, "You got a problem with that?"_

"_No, if you'd rather be brawny than brainy." Sirius interjected,_

"_Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" James chuckled and Melanie tried her best to smother her giggles in her shirt. The girl stood and looked infuriated, and Melanie understood immediately that Sirius had gone to far._

"_Come on, Severus." James and Sirius called after them, mocking the girl and calling,_

"_Bye Snivellus!" to the boy. Melanie didn't miss the tears in the girl's eyes, and she got up to follow them out, whacking Sirius on the back of the head on her way by._

_She found them alone in a compartment. She softly knocked, and the girl frowned at her, but gestured for her to come in, anyways._

"_What do you want? To mock us some more? Go ahead." Melanie looked at her like she was crazy._

"_No, I'm actually here to say sorry they acted like that. I've been friends with Sirius since I was 4 and he's usually not like that. I don't know about James, but he doesn't seem like a complete dick. Only a little." She smiled a little._

"_I'm Lily Evans." Melanie realized that Lily Evans was in fact, a Muggle-born. The first one she had ever had a normal conversation with. The girls smiled at each other and so began a beautiful friendship. Just than another girl stumbled into the compartment,_

"_Hi, can I sit here? I can't find anywhere to sit." They nodded, "I'm Marlene, by the way. Marlene McKinnon."_

"_I'm Melanie Taylor and this is Lily Evans. I'm sorry I didn't catch your name." I said to the boy._

"_Snape. Severus Snape." He didn't speak again that train ride._

"_Oh, well it's nice to meet you guys." We got to know each other, and soon we were laughing and telling stories like old friends. _

_Alice Prewett entered about an hour into the train ride, and she also had an instant connection with the other girls. When a seventh year knocked on the door to tell them it was time to change into their robes, Melanie began to panic. Her scars. She couldn't let the others see them. But at the same time, she trusted them. She decided just to give it a try, and like the other girls (Severus had been kicked out to change elsewhere) began to take off her clothes and put her uniform on. When she pulled her shirt over her head, she heard someone gasp. Heat filled her cheeks._

"_Melanie? Wha—what happened to you?"_

"_My parents."_

"_What about them?"_

"_No, you don't understand," she gestured to the scars that littered her body, "My parents gave me these." Lily actually threw up. And Marlene had to sit down before she fell._

_Alice just looked at her sadly,_

"_My parents are Aurors. In case you were wondering why I wasn't freaking out. I have a pretty good idea of how children of the Dark are raised. Especially if they are different than their families." Lily smiled_

"_It's okay. We still like you anyways. No matter what, we're friends." Now it was Melanie's turn to sit before she fell._

_For the fist time in her life, she had made friends 100% completely on her own._

**Aww, Little Melanie s growing up. I'll try to get the rest out tomorrow**_  
_

**R&R guys  
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**Stars  
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	12. Way Back When Part 2

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, we got it. It's not mine... *sigh***_  
_

**Okay, guys it's time for me to be realistic here. This story has gotten over 900 hits and only 15 reviews most of which are from the same person (Lizaluvsdoggies, you're a doll). If you guys don't tell me what you think, I can't help you out. I want it all, flame me if you want, I DON'T CARE, but just put something down there.  
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******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**And for those of you who alerted this or whatever, don't keep expected like, daily updates, school comes first, as much as I wish it didn't.  
**

**Anyways, enjoy.  
**

**Stars.  
**

_After they changed, there was a knocking at the door. She looked up. It was Bellatrix, who had Sirius by the ear. Melanie opened the door, with a final word to the others to stay quiet._

"_Is it usual for you to drag your cousins around my their ears, Bella?" She snorted at the younger girl and let go of her cousin, shoving him towards the concerned 11 year olds. Sirius stumbled and Lily, Marlene, and Alice, quickly took him to the side to make sure the shaking boy was okay, at least physically._

"_Only blood traitors. Besides, I have orders from Uncle Orion, Aunt Walburga, and your parents, Malfoy. I'm to keep an eye on you two to make sure you two behave." Melanie laughed,_

"_That's rich, coming from the biggest slut and bitch under 18." Bellatrix's wand was at her throat before she could blink. Melanie's wand was under the other girl's chin almost as fast. "I know the spells, Bella. Give me reason to put you in living Hell. I beg you." Bellatrix seemed to see the logic in leaving and departed, slamming the door behind her. Melanie rushed over to Sirius to kneel in front of him, and took his hands, which were still shaking. "Sirius? Are you okay?" He nodded shakily._

"_Ye—yeah, I think so. She didn't do anything but drag me around the train. I guess I got lucky for her finding you. Thanks."_

"_Don't mention it. Us screw ups have to stick together, right?" He nodded and she realized that the shaking had stopped._

"_Yeah. That's what friends are for, right? I'd do the same for you, you know. I should probably go back and get changed with James, Remus, and Peter."_

"_Who are Remus and Peter?"_

"_Remus Lupin, a half-blood and Peter Pettigrew, a pureblood. He isn't from one of the old families, they're much more recent, thank God, so he's not a psycho." She nodded and quickly hugged Sirius before he slipped out the door of the compartment. Severus comes back in, not 30 seconds later, to hear the girls saying,_

"_Oh my God, that was Bellatrix Black. You just told Bellatrix Black off. Who does that? And did she call you Malfoy? I thought your last name was Taylor. And is he okay? Who is he anyways?" Melanie held up a hand to stop the flow of questions from the naturally inquisitive 11 year olds._

"_Yes, that was Bellatrix Black, yes I did tell her off. Yes, she is a slut. My mother is a Malfoy, and the charming happy-go-lucky, that was sarcasm by the way; purebloods in the U.K. call me by my mom's maiden name. Taylor is an old American Pureblood name, and doesn't have as much meaning here. The boy was Sirius Black, her younger cousin, he's in our year, and he's been my friend since we were like 4 or 5. I'm pretty sure he's okay, if not a little mentally damaged." Just as the last word was out of her mouth, the train came to a halt._

_The four girls looked up in wonder. They were finally here. Hogwarts. They all made their way onto the platform when Melanie was grabbed by James and Sirius, extracted from the watchful eye of Lily Evans._

"_Lily! Help! The idiots have me!"_

"_Oi! We aren't idiots!" She was placed into a boat, and the two boys, along with Lily, who had apparently heard the cry for help. James sat next to Lily and Melanie and Sirius sat next to each other on the backbench._

_It finally came into view and Melanie and Sirius both let out relaxed breaths of air. This was a guaranteed safe pass, away for nine months, from their families. The castle was beautiful and it looked straight out of a fairytale, unlike Melanie's house, which looked straight out of a nightmare. _

_They were ushered into the entrance hall, and we instructed to wait. Sirius and Melanie looked worriedly at each other, both clearly worried about where they were going to be sorted._

_A stern woman entered._

"_Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But, first you must be sorted. There are four houses: Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Your personal achievements will earn you house points, and any rule breaking will cost you points. Who ever has the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup. Now, follow me, please." She pushed open the large doors to reveal a great Hall, with an enchanted ceiling, that looked very much like the weather outside Hogwarts' doors. At the front of the room, in front of the teachers' table, there was a lone, raggedy hat. The first years all huddled in a corner. McGonagall pulled out a roll of parchment and read off a name._

"_Black, Narcissa!" She anxiously walked up to the hat and it was placed on her head. It took a whole minute before the hat cried out,_

"_SLYTHERIN!" Melanie felt her heart sink. She was so sure Cissy was better than them. The Slytherins all clapped, completely unsurprised at the addition of a Black to their table. Next was,_

"_Black, Sirius!" Sirius easily walked up to the stool and placed the hat on his own head. It took not thirty seconds for the hat to cry,_

"_GRYFFINDOR!" The entire hall gasped. A Black in Gryffindor. Not just a Black, but also the heir to the name. The Gryffindors cheered loudly at their new addition, anything to piss the Slytherins off._

"_Evans, Lily!"_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

"_Lupin, Remus!"_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

"_McKinnon, Marlene!"_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

"_Pettigrew, Peter!" It took almost three minutes to decide…_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

"_Potter, James!"_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

"_Prewett, Alice!"_

"_GRYFFINDOR!"_

"_Taylor, Melanie!" The whole room looked up at her. The Slytherins were hoping and praying she wasn't going to surprise them like the other of their own had. Those who knew her though, such as Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Lucius, knew there really wasn't even a chance. The hat was placed on her head…_

"Interesting…A Taylor, and a Malfoy as well. You have pure blood little one. Ah, but that's just it, isn't it? You don't care, about that do you? I see here, I see that you would die to protect the people you love, to give them only another day. You're smart though too…hmm, what a conundrum… Loyal, but too mean for Hufflepuff. Smart, but too lazy for Ravenclaw. That leaves Slytherin and Gryffindor little one, which shall it be? You're too kind and up front for Slytherin, but also too clever and cunning for Gryffindor. They do say it is our choices that define us, so which will it be, little one, Gryffindor or Slytherin?" _Melanie silently thought to the hat,_

"_Gryffindor."_

"Ah, that's what I thought you'd say…_GRYFFINDOR!_" _The last word was shouted out to the entire hall. The Slytherins looked like they might very well die of shock. Sirius, James and the rest of her new friends stood up and cheered for her. She slowly walked over to the Gryffindor table and didn't see Bellatrix slip out of the hall unnoticed by all, to go Floo a certain couple with some news about their daughter._

_Everyone wanted to talk to the rebel snakes, and wanted to congratulate them on finally telling their 'pureblooded maniacs of families' where to stick it. But then an owl flew into the room and everyone went quiet. It landed right in front of Melanie. It was a Howler. How her mother had heard so fast was beyond her. She hadn't been sorted more than 20 minutes ago. She hesitatingly opened it and it formed into a grotesque face, _

"MELANIE JASMINE MALFOY-TAYLOR! HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE THIS FAMILY? WE ARE GETTING YOU RESORTED NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS ABOUT IT YOUNG LADY! WHEN YOU COME HOME THIS SUMMER THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY, BELIEVE ME. YOU FATHER IS FURIOUS, RIGHTLY SO, MIGHT I ADD. DON'T BOTHER COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS OR EASTER BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT WELCOME!"

_And like that, it burst into flame, leaving ashes in front of her, and the whole hall staring. Sirius slapped her on the back,_

"_Good on you, Mellie. I haven't heard your mom get that upset lately, I was beginning to worry she was actually becoming a tolerable human there for a minute!" He said it loud enough to be heard by the whole hall, and everyone, except the Slytherins, burst out laughing at him. If anything, the Howler just made the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws even more eager to meet them. Sirius' Howler that would be coming in the morning, just made them famous in the schools gossip mills, little did they know then._

_They all walked to the Portrait, behind a Prefect and were told the password ("Gillyweed") and were sent off to their dorms. Melanie fell asleep thinking that for the first time in a long time, that she was home._

_Little did she know, in the first year's boy's dorm, a certain grey-eyed pureblood was thinking the exact same thing._

**R&R guys, oh and this is the last full flashback chapter for a while.  
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	13. A Different Kind of Home

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**So, I got to say, I personally LOVE the mini-flashback in this one, it's kind of sad and happy all at the same time, and I may or may not have started to cry when I wrote it. I'm really proud of this one, and hope you guts like it.  
**

**And it's Mellie v. Sirius round two in this chapter. Told you they had a long way to go...  
**

**I just want everyone to know that because I live in Florida, and if you watch the news, you know what that means: 1) I have no school monday (yay) and 2) my internet will more than likely be out for the next couple of days. Both thanks to Hurricane Issac, which is supposed to almost directly hit where I live, so, sorry if you don't get anything until Tuesday or so.**

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**I'm going to go fill trashcans up with water now, just in case our water tower gets blown away.**

**Wish me luck, Review, and enjoy.**

**Stars.  
**

I sighed, it had been such a long time ago, but at the same time, it felt like that was yesterday, sitting in my first Welcome Feast, getting a howler from my award winning mother (who, when Dumbledore spoke to her, was refused a resorting. Thanks Dumbles).

Now as we walked into the Great Hall, every eye turned to stare. Not at Lily and James, who were usually the main attractions, due to their iffy-at-best relationship (the steady and strong friendship I had with Sirius usually kept us out of the rumor mill, at least together anyways), but to us. I mean Sirius and me. Some of the older Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs gave us thumbs up, and our own house table burst into a roaring (hehe, get the joke? Lion. Roaring. Hehe.) applause, for reasons completely unbeknownst to me. _Why are they clapping? _**No idea. **The Seventh and Fifth years gave me hugs and high-fived Sirius. I was really confused, until Thomas Wood, Seventh Year and Quidditch Captain, came up to me and gave me a tight hug, Thomas was nice, and had helped me with Potions more than once.

"I hear you dueled Walburga Black. And won. Good job, kiddo. And don't even mention leaving home in such a spectacular manner. Good for you two. I also heard you both kicked some serious ass." I smiled at him. So that's what it was about.

"I didn't exactly win, Wood. I was in St. Mungo's for six days, and was unconscious for five of them." He laughed and ruffled my hair,

"You left her tied up in a stairwell. You won. End of story."

"How does everyone know about that?"

"It's Hogwarts. You think you can do something like this and the whole school _won't_ know? Where have you been the past five years?" I laughed and Minnie came over, to try to calm her house down.

"Black! Taylor! Why is it you are getting a standing ovation from most of the Great Hall?" I sighed and shrugged,

"I don't know Minnie. It's probably thanks to our amazing dueling skills." The whole table cheered, but I wasn't fazed, used to the constant attention that came with being close with the Marauders (why they cal themselves, that, I don't know).

"Don't call me Minnie, Taylor."

"Sorry Professor Minnie." I heard James snort from where he was on the other side of the crowd of people.

"Wood, please enlighten me as to why there is a riot at this table." Thomas grinned a cocky smile and lazily said,

"Well, I don't know if you're aware, but Melanie and Sirius left home this summer, dueled Walburga and Orion Black, _won_, left them tied up in a stairwell, in their own house, and then flew a flying motorcycle to the P—a currently undisclosed location." I poked him hardly, and he figured out to stay silent as to just where we had gone. Sirius interrupted,

"I'd just like to say, the only Mellie left my mother in a stairwell. I had enough dignity to leave my father tied up in the entryway, on the floor." We high-fived and McGonagall's stern look twitched, almost as if she was going to…no, it can't be…_smile_. She waved a hand,

"Sit down, everyone, we need to proceed with the sorting." Like that she left to go get the new batch of First Years. _That was strange. _**Yes, yes it was. **_How did they all find out? _**It's Hogwarts, Sirius. I know you haven't spent much time in the girl's restroom, but that is the nerve system of this school's rumor mill. We're rebels, apparently. People like rebels. **_How do you know I haven't spent much time in the girls' room? _**You're a pig. **_Only for you. _**Yeah, yeah you ass. Oh, look a Gryffindor. **_Best thing that will ever happen to that kid. _**Got that right. When you make friends with these people, you just **_**can't**_** seem to get rid of them. **Something happened then: something that hasn't ever happened before. All of a sudden, I all of a sudden felt amusement flicker over me, like if I had an extra arm, and I was feeling tingling in it. It was an extra entity that I could feel. And I knew just what it was. It was Sirius' amusement. It was the surface of his emotions. A very surface value emotion, nothing deep, but his amusement at my joke, had flooded through me, just as it had him.

I hadn't felt the urge to chuckle as he had, but I had felt that something was there, and it gave the distinct feel of amusement, even though, I myself wasn't amused. Well, more than I usually was at my hilarious jokes, at any rate.

**We need to talk later. Something just happened. **_Is everything okay, Mel? _**Yeah, this is just something we have to talk out, out loud. **_Okayy, if you're sure. _**I am. Later Padfoot. **The rest of the feast passed in a blur. I was so caught up in what had happened.

The link was growing, or had it always been like this, and had we just never known? That begged the question, how long until we could slip into each other's minds, and find out the secrets no one, not even each other knows? How long until he saw the horrors of my past? How long until he saw the real reason I left? How long until he saw the abuse, straight from my own mind, impossible to brush off as a lie? Could we feel the physical sensations from the memories, if it even went that far? Will he feel the Cruciatus Curse of the hands of my father, when he gets to curious about what I never speak about? It haunted me, stalking us as we went up to Gryffindor Tower, armed with the password from Prefect Remus. Sirius and I took armchairs in the corner of the room, to get the privacy needed for the conversation we were about to have.

"Mel, what's the problem?" I sighed,

"Well, during the sorting when we were talking, I all of a sudden felt something when I was making that crap joke about how you can't shake Gryffindors. All of a sudden I felt like there was this extra part of me, like there was an extension of me, almost like an added limb that I didn't know was there, but in my mind. I felt amusement. Not like I was amused, but rather like I felt something that someone else was feeling, kind of like an observation, I wasn't laughing, it didn't make me laugh, and I didn't find it funny, but someone did." **And I'm pretty sure it was you. **He looked thoroughly unsurprised, and that put me on edge just a little.

"Did you do it on purpose?"

"No, but it happened."

"You went in my mind."

"Yeah. Sirius, what aren't you telling me?"

"It's been happening to me since almost immediately after the link was discovered." What? You asshole. You better have an explanation Sirius Orion Black…

"And you _haven't told me_?"

"I didn't want to. You were just starting to come to terms with it, and I didn't want to upset that."

"Do you know how unfair that is? Do you know what you've been doing to me? I've been under the impression for almost a year now that my emotions and thoughts were my own, and _they haven't been_. You're such a goddamn dick, Sirius! God, it's unbelievable that I put up with this shit sometimes." I could feel tears threatening to fall out of my frustration and betrayal, but held them back, trying to hold on to at least part of my dignity.

I turned to walk to the girls' dorms but I stopped at the foot of the stairs and whispered, "I was worried about what you might think of me. But I guess that's not a problem anymore. Stay away from me, Sirius Black. No secrets, remember?" I left him, standing alone in the Common Room, with Gryffindor House in it's entirety staring at us, wondering what had just happened to the seemingly unshakeable best friends, more constant than any other relationship in this school.

I feel into bed and bitterly thought to myself, **Happy First day back.** When Lily came in, I pretended to be asleep, and soon enough, I stopped pretending and let unconsciousness take me.

SIRIUS POV

I shouldn't have said anything, but I thought she should know. I had been telling the truth. Melanie had struggled constantly with the knowledge of someone inside of her head (even though it didn't work like that), and I had started to feel inklings of what she was feeling at the same time she began to accept it, and embrace it.

I hadn't wanted to upset her. I had wanted to protect her from the knowledge that her emotions were whispering their way into my head at night, and that I started to have dreams of her as a child, which I suspected were her memories, long repressed by her then young, mind, to protect itself.

I came clean and she started to scream. I just sat there, to surprised and upset to do anything. When she turned away, I saw there were tears in her eyes, threatening to fall. Oh, my God. I actually made her cry. I remembered with a jolt, second year right before we went home…

"_Family?" The girl said._

"_Family. Because family takes care of each other. Family puts each other before themselves. They're not our families. We're our own family." The boy answered her sternly, forcefully. The little girl's eyes started to water,_

"_Family…" she whispered._

"_We're family Mellie, and I swear to you, I'll take care of you when you can't do it for yourself. No secrets, because family doesn't have secrets."_

"_I'll do the same for you. No secrets. Pinky promise." The two locked pinkies and smiled at each other,_

"_MELANIE TAYLOR! You get over here right this instant!" She looked at the boy, who hugged her and whispered in her ear,_

"_Be strong. Be courageous. Be a Gryffindor." She hugged him back tightly and she turned to leave her best friend, to go. Not home, she was leaving it now, because she knew deep in her heart, her home was where ever that boy with the grey eyes went. Sirius was her home. Just like Lily and James, and Remus and Marley and Alice. They were her home. Gryffindor was her home._

I didn't know it then, but I had just broken a promise that had kept the girl with the dark hair and blue eyes with tears in them alive for the past four years.

And there was going to be Hell to pay. And here came the messenger from Hell now.

"Sirius Orion Black. What. Did. You. Do. To. Her." I sank down in a chair and whispered,

"I don't know, Lily. I don't know."


	14. The Angel's Fall from Grace

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**Hi! So this is the most depressing chapter in this whole story so far. There's not much speaking, but a lot of actions, and ANOTHER near death accident. Goodness, for 16 year-olds, their lives are in question quite a lot. It's Alice's POV and Remus' POV because they're the two most sensitive out of the whole group, and they're both very good at watching.**

**I did some research on the last part, and I really hope I got it right. Wikipedia's never led me astray before, except when, you know it told me my school's mascot was Chuck Norris (it isn't).**

******Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**Review, and please enjoy!**

**Trying not to get blown away by Hurricane Isaac, **

**Stars.  
**

ALICE POV

I was flirting with Seventh Year Frank Longbottom when the shouting began. I recognized the voice of the offended person as Melanie, and began to search the room for her with my eyes.

I had no idea who could piss her off that much, so when I found her lashing into Sirius for who knows what, you could only imagine how surprised I was. They fight don't get me wrong. They fight _all the time_, but no one ever really got mad, only a little pissed. He was sitting in an armchair and she was standing in front of him, her eyes alight with the dangerous magic that she fights so hard to contain.

Unlike most Witches and Wizards, her accidental magic didn't stop at 11, when she got her wand, but has continued into her adolescence. It had only exposed itself twice, to the best of my knowledge, once in second year when she and Sirius got into a fight over how Regulus Black was sorted, and last year when Snape called Lily a you-know-what. Both times something horrible happened to the person her anger was directed at, and so, she was eager to contain it. As were the rest of us, believe me.

Then I noticed that her eyes were bright with something else too: tears. She was going to cry. This was a girl emergency. I looked to Frank with an apologetic look,

"I'm sorry, I'll be right back, I have to go do something." He nodded and smirked, waving his hand off, saying 'do what you gotta'. I ran off and found Lily on a couch, immersed in a conversation with Remus about this year's schoolbooks.

"Lils!" She looked up, surprised, "It's Mel. She's yelling at Sirius, and I have no idea why, I think she's getting ready to cry." At the last word, she looked even more alarmed than she had been with Mel's name had left my mouth. Together, we picked our way over to where they had been. We arrived just in time to see Mellie leaving, with a final,

"…No secrets. Remember?" Sirius just started after her and looked like he might cry too, the poor boy. His hands were shaking and he was exceptionally pale. Lily didn't seem to notice this and stomped right up to him, with a scowl on her pretty face,

"Sirius Orion Black. What. Did. You. Do. To. Her." He fell back into his chair and when he answered, his voice was broken and shaking as badly as the rest of him.

"I don't know, Lily. I don't know." The use of her first name looked like it surprised her. I came over to them,

"Sirius, what happened?" He looked at me, but not really _at_ me, but through me. They needed each other badly that much was apparent. It was heartbreaking.

"The link. She started to feel emotions from me tonight. I've been getting a feel for her since it started. She got pissed because I didn't tell her until now." I sighed. I knew it was more than an internal conversation. I _knew_ it. "I am such a horrible person. I made her _cry_, Al. I mean, I made her actually cry over me." He put his head in his hands, and I decided this was a good time to go and find James. I left those two alone to find Remus and James having a quiet conversation.

When they saw me, they both jumped apart,

"I don't even want to know, you two. You need to come here. It's Sirius. Him and Mellie are fighting." Remus rolled his eyes.

"Him and Mellie are _always_ fighting."

"She was crying, Moony. Melanie Taylor was _crying_. This one's bad." They were both up in a heartbeat and at their friend's side in no more than 5 seconds.

Sirius was being herded into the dorm in another instant. The boys weren't heard from or seen for the rest of the night. When Lils and I (after saying goodnight to Frank, of course) went up to our dorm, Melanie was pretending to be asleep. We let her be, though, deciding she was going to need her sleep (even of the pretend variety) in the coming aftermath of tonight.

When I woke up, Mel was already awake, which was totally strange, she sleeps like the dead, usually. I noticed there were red rims around her eyes and she was sniffling.

"Morning, Al."

"Hey, Mellie. How'd you sleep?"

"Okay, I guess. Woke up kind of early, though, which sucks. What about you?"

"Pretty good. I don't mean to be in your business or anything, but I kind of saw the altercation in the Common Room last night." She stiffened.

"You did?"

"Yeah, it was kind of hard not to. It was kind of a loud altercation." She nodded sadly,

"Al? Do you know how to get rid of these?" She gestured to her face,

"Your eyes?" She rolled the part of her anatomy in question,

"No, not my eyes, the red circles, you dolt." I got up and didn't question her,

"Yeah, I do. Come here." She got up and came to sit on my bed. I muttered an incantation and the rims around her eyes and the redness on her nose vanished. She smiled sadly at me. It seemed everything she did was sad now. And I knew why. She was mad at Sirius, but only a little. They can't ever be _really_ mad at each other. Ever. She felt betrayed.

I had deduced that there had been some long-standing agreement about no secrets, judging by what she had said when she left last night. And he had somehow broken that, and she had an extreme, and slightly irrational, reaction, due to her absolute lack of affection or trust up until age 11.

All of a sudden, I saw that this would be very much like the Melanie that would exist if she had chosen Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. She was broken. Her spirit was shattered. Sirius managed to break the daughter that the most aggressive and vindictive people hadn't managed to run into the ground, _on accident_.

She was cold, and acted very much like how Narcissa Black usually acted, unlike on the train where both of them, along with the dead-spirited and cold-hearted Regulus, had laughed and had poked fun at each other like they were just some kids. No one special, just kids.

That 10-minute episode on the train was the last time we saw Melanie's real spirit for the next two months. Two miserable months. The weather began to cool down in early November and it set a very fitting chill into the hearts of our entire house.

Sirius and Melanie were the glue in our little group, Lils only tolerating Sirius because Mel was so close to him and James not asking her out everyday because they had begged him to stop. Marlene found a new boy, in Ravenclaw and spent all of her time with him, and Remus locked himself away with his books, far, far away from his emotions. Peter was disappearing more and more, and I began to spend more and more time with Frank Longbottom, just to get out of the sixth year dorms. And so we all stopped speaking to each other.

Meanwhile, Melanie was deteriorating. She stopped eating, and no matter what we did, she wouldn't swallow food. If we force fed her, she'd throw it up later that night, waking up and running to the bathroom to the toilet.

She'd wake up screaming in the night, so often, we put silencing charms on her bed, so we could get a good night's sleep. Every morning, she'd come out of the shower, with red eyes and a red nose, and every morning, I'd perform the charm to make them disappear, not even questioning it anymore.

She hardly ever spoke either, and I forgot what she looked like when she _wasn't_ miserable.

No one had ever realized how much she needed her strangely intimate relationship with Sirius to be happy, or even to survive. She hadn't known and neither had we. I was given detention for a week for punching Rita Skeeter in her big nose when I heard her talking about how Mel was going to try to kill herself because Sirius stopped sleeping with her.

She was dying, and we all knew it. We just didn't know how to fix it. It turns out it fixed itself, when during breakfast, where she would just sit there and stare, she passed out, hitting her forehead on the edge of the table, leaving a blood mark the color of our House Crest on it. She fell off the bench and her crimson blood began to spread its way across the stone floor of the Great Hall, as it trickled down into her hairline. She was rushed to the Hospital Wing.

REMUS POV

Watching Sirius fall apart was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. When we took him up to our dorm the night of the fight, he said nothing. Not one word, and he remained that way, only speaking in one or two word answers, when spoken too directly.

He, like Melanie, stopped eating and sleeping. He was as good as dead, and was well on his way to actually being there. Until the day Melanie passed out.

I had glanced up to ask someone to pass the salt, when I saw her sway and then she went down. Her head hit the table with a sickening thud, splattering blood onto the wood, and she fell to the ground, her blood forming a pool of red around her head.

She looked like a fallen angel, I thought absently. An angel that God had struck down, because of her strong will. We all moved at once towards the girl who had become a prisoner on her own body. Lily and Alice were there first, and lifted her head, as James and Sirius lifted her body. I collected the discarded school bags and followed, with Peter and Marlene, who had come over from the Ravenclaw table. When we got there, everyone was crowded around the bed. Madam Pomfrey looked rather annoyed at them.

"Would someone like to tell me why this poor girl constantly has life-threatening injuries? And why does she show signs of being starved and being sleep-deprived?" We all shifted uncomfortably, until Lily spoke up,

"She's been depressed for the past couple of months. No matter what we do, she won't eat or sleep and she hardly ever speaks."

"What could have caused this? Anything you can think of?" We all looked at each other. Then we all looked at Sirius. If she had to be told, it was him that was going to do it.

"We got into a fight the day we got back. It's been bad. Really bad. I—I didn't know she was this upset. She screamed at me, then ran off." Madam Pomfrey sighed sadly,

"She has Stress Cardiomyopathy." Lily's eyes widened, and I had a distinct feeling that she knew exactly what that was,

"What's that?" Marlene asked.

"When the body suffers a traumatic loss of someone very dear to them, someone who determines whether or not they live, the brain starts to excrete hormones and other chemicals that weakens the heat tissue, and ultimately kills the person, if it goes untreated.

It's commonly called Heart Break Syndrome. Miss. Taylor's heart was shattered by your argument and it very nearly killed her, Mr. Black." Our eyes all widened. Melanie had almost died of a broken heart, "Luckily, with the right treatment, including you two making amends, it can be treated and fixed almost immediately. But you will have to sit down and talk with her, Mr. Black. No ifs, ands, or buts about it." He nodded and sank down into the chair next to her bed. Staring at the face of the girl we all knew he was in love with, even if he didn't know it yet.

Madam Pomfrey insisted on running tests on Sirius also, and said that he too was suffering from Stress Cardiomyopathy, as well as malnourishment, exhaustion, and dehydration, just like his female counterpart, who was actually in the Hospital Wing.

Pomfrey insisted on keeping him for a couple of days, and he didn't put up much of a fuss. I had a feeling he wanted to be there when Mellie woke up, from the rather strong sedative she had been given to help her head heal.

Melanie and Sirius had both almost died of broken hearts, and I knew that if this happened again, we wouldn't be so lucky that they both came out of it alive. Next time, we could lose one, if not both, of them to each other's pride and lasting damage from their childhoods.


	15. Quidditch with the 'Potions Tutor'

**Disclaimer: Get the Point?**

**It's technically 12:16 am my time, so this is my update for today, so, just want to say that.**

**And they finally make amends, but because life can never be _too_ easy, another problem pops up at the end of the chapter, along with a possible solution, which leaves our heroine with a decision to make. There's also re-explanation of what happened to them, and read it if you want, I'd suggest it, because I had a little bit of a hard time wrapping my head around Heart Break Syndrome (which seriously does exist) when I wrote it. This is an overall happy one, which you guy totally deserve after having to drag yourselves through the last two really heavy chapters.  
**

**And does anyone remember her mentioning the engagement and that some infraction of behavior caused it to break? Well, there's a little explanation in this, but you don't ge tthe whole story for AT LEAST another two chapters.  
**

**********Oh, and I uploaded what they all would look like, because there was some request for it. It's on my profile, guys, check it out. :)**

**Hurricane Isaac is trying to blow me away right now,**

**Stars.  
**

SIRIUS POV

In all honesty, I didn't see Melanie deteriorating; I had been much to busy suffering myself. I had missed how she stopped eating, and speaking. I didn't know sleep evaded her just as much as it did me. I didn't see her suffering. I all I could see was my pain, because I'd have chest pains that lit up my world with fire. Madam Pomfrey said that was a physical condition of the illness. I'd cry (in a very manly way) all the time, and hardly ever went to class, electing to stay in bed, instead.

I don't even know why I was so upset. We'd gotten into fights before. Fights worse than this, in second year, she even almost took my arm off, in a burst of accidental magic, and we had been fine.

But this, this was breaking all of us.

When she went down in the Great Hall, it was probably the worst moment of my life, including the night we ran away. Evans and Alice, who were sitting next to her, were there in an instant, and James and I weren't far behind. When the pool of blood began to form, I could feel a panic attack coming on. But nevertheless we lifted her and took her to the hospital wing.

When Pomfrey said that it was Stress Cardio—something, Evans looked like she wanted to throw up. Heart Break Syndrome. I had almost killed her. And it turns out; she had almost killed me too. I was put in the Hospital Wing next to her, and Pomfrey performed a spell to stop my heart tissue from continuing to deteriorate. She fixed any physical problems on both of us, and all that was left was to fix the mental ones, and to do that, Melanie had to wake up, first.

It was a day after we had both been admitted, that she woke up. She shifted and her eyes fluttered open, drinking in daylight for the first time in 36 hours. I quickly close my eyes, feigning sleep.

Madam Pomfrey apparently had a second sense as to when her patients woke up, and came rushing out not a minute later.

"Ah, Miss. Taylor, good to see you're finally awake."

"Wha—what happened?"

"You've been sick. Very, very sick. You've had Stress Cardiomyopathy, and it's been slowly killing you. Along with a side of clinical depression, you're lucky you made it this long."

"What's that?"

"Stress Cardiomyopathy? It's commonly called Heart Break Syndrome. Your little scuffle with Mr. Black here devastated you more than you imagined. You lost someone so close and important to you that your brain began to secrete hormones that began to weaken your heart tissue. I've fixed the physical conditions, but you two need to talk it out, to keep either of you from relapsing. Oh, and the depression is more than likely also gone, probably fixed by the rebalancing of chemicals in your brain."

"You said 'to keep _either_ of us from relapsing'."

"You didn't really think that you were the only one effected by this, did you? No, the only reason Mr. Black," I was still pretending to be asleep, "didn't fall as you had, was that he was bigger, sweetie, you're smaller than he is, which means your organs are smaller and they are more easily affected with things of this nature, and illness takes a toll on them quicker. He isn't here for fun, you know."

"He had the same thing?"

"Yes, like you he was suffering from a bout of Heart Break Syndrome, malnutrition, dehydration, and exhaustion, which he seems prone to," True enough, I was very prone to exhaustion. "And also depression. You two need to talk this out. But it will have to wait until he wakes up." I stirred, or pretended to, and slowly opened my eyes, pretending I had been sleeping the whole time.

"Ah, Mr. Black. Good to see you're awake. I'll leave you two to talk." She swiftly vanished into her office and then we were alone. We stared at each other for a couple of minutes, saying nothing.

"This is awkward." I nodded,

"Yup. Very awkward."

"I'm sorry I screamed at you."

"No, you're not." She smiled faintly,

"Yeah, not really. You deserved it."

"I usually do, Mellie. But I was being honest, I didn't say anything to you when it started because I was in a unique position to understand how you were feeling, and I didn't want to dump that on you."

"I know, I know. You didn't mean any harm, did you?" I shook my head no.

"I really didn't, I just wanted to protect you in the way I thought best. But from now on, there's really going to be no secrets. Starting right now."

"Right now?"

"Yeah, you should probably also know that some of your childhood memories have shown up in my dreams. So, yeah. Right now." She groaned.

"What have you seen? How do you know they're even real?"

"I remember them too, Mel. Well, at least some of them. You forget that we knew each other, no matter how distantly as children. We weren't as close as we are now, or were, depending on how this goes, but we were still friends." She nodded,

"I guess I can't be too mad, after this."

"I saw why the engagement was broken." Eh, might as well get it out of the way now. She winced, and was ready for what ever came next. I could see she was ashamed, and I had no idea why, "And I thought it was the single most amazing, brave, and selfless thing, I've ever seen in my entre life." She looked at me surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I do. Does Remus know that was you?" She sighs and puts her hands over her face,

"He suspects, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't know for sure. I knew, though. As soon as I laid eyes on him on the train, I knew he was the boy who was living on borrowed time."

"You were willing to take a beating," she winces at the word, "to save someone you didn't know. Someone who was considered a beast by your entire family. At age eight. What part of that isn't remarkable?"

"I just reacted. I didn't mean to blow him backwards into a wall. I saw what was happening and reacted. I didn't even realize the consequences of what I'd done until he woke up and found Remus gone, and our stupid house elf Pinky told him that I'd let him go. It was worth it, though. So, are we good?" I smiled at her,

"Yeah, Taylor, I guess I'm stuck with you." She pulled herself off her bed and come over to hug me. I scooted over and she wiggled under the covers next to me, sharing a pillow, like we had done as children, just for the simple comfort of human company.

"Hey, Sirius?" She asked tiredly,

"Hm?"

"Pinky promise?" I smiled softly at nothing in particular and locked pinkies with her,

"Pinky promise, Mellie."

I felt her breath a deep, contented sigh as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she laid her head on my shoulder. We both drifted off to sleep; blissfully unaware that in an hour, when our friends would come in, they would all place bets on how long it would take us to finally get together, as they looked at us, sleeping, with our pinkies still intertwined.

But for right now, we were family again, and that was all that mattered.

MELANIE POV

I woke up in Sirius' hospital bed, and our pinky promise had somehow made it through our naptime, and our little fingers were still stuck together, the intertwined hands lying on my stomach. I sighed contentedly. It was nighttime and I realized that for the first time in the past two months, I found the stars beautiful. For the first time in two months, I saw the good in the world.

The depression was gone, and my heart was fine. Hopefully we were on the upswing of my luck. I felt Padfoot shift under me and I smiled, having slight déjà vu about the last time we made up from a fight, we yet again slept in the same bed.

It was a strange, yet oddly welcome trend.

"Good evening, Melanie Jasmine Taylor." I laughed, and it felt amazing to do so, for the first time in two months.

"Good evening, Sirius Orion Black." He chuckled and I took in the comfort that I hadn't felt in such a long time.

"Oh good you two are up." We both looked up to see Madam Pomfrey smiling at us. We jumped apart so fast you could almost see the atoms splitting and we both sat up in bed, next to each other, but not touching. I felt a sheepish smile forming, patients weren't supposed to sleep in the same bed. Ever. Actually no one was ever supposed to sleep in the same bed in this school. "Relax, Miss. Taylor. Normally I would yell at you two, but considering." She shrugged and we both relaxed, knowing we weren't about to get detention, too.

Sirius wrapped his arm back around me and I relaxed back into his shoulder, infinitely glad to have my best friend back next to me. I laughed and saw that the pinky promise still survived. Padfoot looked at me like I'd lost my mind. I held up our hands to show him, and he too laughed. Madam Pomfrey smiled and went back into her office.

"So, my grades suck." I laughed at him,

"Oh, don't worry, mine do too. I think I spent more time out of class than in it so far. Hey, at least I went on test days."

"And any Evans and Prongs progress was destroyed by this."

"There was progress? That's news to me." He laughed at me. And for some reason, I began to laugh too. I laughed and he laughed, until it came to a crescendo, his bark of laughter and my pealing laugh echoing far out of the confines of the Hospital Wing.

Just then, two people walked in, and I was momentarily confused by the appearance of another Sirius. Then I realized it was Regulus, not his brother. Cissy was with him, and they were looking rather apprehensive at what I'm sure sounded like maniacal laughter coming from the Hospital Wing. I smiled at both of them and they both relaxed, realizing that we were 100% alone.

"Mel!" Cissy ran over to me, all signs of decorum gone.

"Cissy!"

"Oh, Mellie, we were both so worried when we saw you fall. Oh, but Lucius, he wouldn't let me come to see you."

"Where is he now, Cis?"

"'Quidditch practice.'"

"In the middle of the night?" I asked,

"Well, it's more of 'Quidditch Practice'." She rolled her eyes, but didn't seem upset by her fiancées obvious infidelity. Reg smirked and gestured to Cissy,

"Meet my Potions tutor." They both grinned. I smiled at both of them,

"You two amaze me. Oh, and Cissy, how _is_ my dear cousin?" She smirked and replied,

"Every time a pair of heels comes into the Common Room, he looks up panicked, then when he see the color of the tie, he calms down. Whatever you did, it made an impression." Regulus laughed,

"And that has to be quite an impression, considering you made threats of bodily harm to him every other week before you left." I looked up at him, startled, that he would speak so cavalierly about what I thought would be a touchy topic with him.

"I waved a beater's bat around like a lunatic a couple inches from his face. Would that have left an impression on you, Reg?" He nodded,

"Point taken. Oh, and you should know, Andrew and Jasmine were told about what happened." Sirius' nails dug into my side, "They're still trying to write a contract. I'm trying to make them give it up, but, it's becoming difficult, it's almost done."

"How much longer?"

"A month or two. Maybe."

"There's no way out of it?"

"You could apply for emancipation." My head shot up,

"What?"

"Parents can only create a contract between their children as long as they remain minors, after the age of 17, the contract must then be signed and willingly ratified by both parties, whilst under no duress of any kind. Become an Emancipated Minor, and they can't do it. They'll marry me to Katie, and that I can deal with."

"And why's that little brother?" Sirius' voice was cold, yet undeniably curious. Regulus met his eyes and answered evenly,

"I want the best, like everyone else in this room, for Melanie, if she doesn't want to marry me, so be it. Her sister, Katie, will have to marry a pureblood though, well, she doesn't actually _have_ to, but she won't object. She recognizes what she is to her parents and embraces it, and I'd rather have her marry me, because unlike so many other pureblooded men, like our father, I tend to treat women with respect, and fully intend to be 100% faithful to her and our children, if I _do_ marry her." Sirius' mouth flopped open, and then closed. Open, close. Silence. "Mel, apply for Emancipation, and they can't touch you." I nodded.

"I'll talk to Dumbles tomorrow. Or Today. What time _is _it exactly?"

"We left our Common Room just after midnight." Cissy replied, "it's almost one now, we should probably be going. Lucius will be returning from 'Quidditch Practice' in a little bit." She kissed my forehead, and Regulus hugged me with one arm and gave me a Signature "I'm a Black" wink. They left, quietly closing the Hospital Wing door, to avoid getting busted for breaking curfew. I yawned and found the fact I was tired remarkable, considering I had passed out in the morning, day before last.

Apparently Sirius shared the sentiment and we both laid back down, and once more fell back to sleep, this time there wasn't a pinky promise involved, just an unspoken one to be there when the other woke up, and it was that that kept the nightmares away, once more.


	16. And She Takes Control of Her Own Life

**Disclaimer: The Usual.**_  
_

**So, I know, I said that I wasn't updating again today, but I lied. :O I also said that you wouldn't get the full story about why the engagement broke, but I lied again. :O I know it's really short, but it's also really important, and needs to be told. Poor, poor Remus.  
**

**Review, and Enjoy.  
**

**Stars.  
**

_A young girl, dressed in the finery of her people was walking through her house, early in the morning, glorying in the money and power that her Mommy and Daddy had, when she heard the moaning. It was definitely a boy, she thought, not a girl, like her. The natural curiosity of an eight-year-mind made her follow the sound until she got to the Wine Cellar. The sound was coming from inside the locked door._

_The girl, who had a startling amount of control over her magic, pressed a small palm to the doorknob and whispered,_

"_Open." She heard the door unlock and she pushed it open before she could talk her self out of it. _

_Her Daddy was there, as was Mr. Greyback, whom she'd never really liked, he always smiled like he was going to hurt something, and in this child' mind, there was no more heinous crime, than intentionally inflicting pain onto another person or animal, despite what her parents thought. There was also a little boy, who was lying in front of the two men, who was curled up in a ball. This was the source of the sound. He was crying and trying to stop the blood that was flowing from large wounds on his face, from running into his sandy hair._

"_What are you doing?!" She screamed at them, both men jumped and looked up, startled to see someone so young in the doorway. Andrew smiled at his daughter,_

"_Sweetie, this boy's a werewolf. Do remember our lesson on werewolves?" The little girl nodded, eager to please her Daddy, who she loved very much,_

"_They're evil creatures, half-human, and need to be killed." The man smiled at his daughter, happy that she remembered. She looked at the boy, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see anything but a boy they were letting die, "Wha-what happened to him? Why's he bleeding?"_

"_Miss. Malfoy, you have to realize that this boy's father was not a very good friend to me or you Daddy and he tried to hurt us." The girl gasped, finally understanding,_

"_You did this? You did this to him?"_

"_Melanie—" BAM. The little girl's magic exploded, blasting her father and Fenrir Greyback into the walls, knocking them unconscious. The boy looked up at her,_

"_Pl—please don't hurt me." She ran over to him,_

"_I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you get back to your Mommy and Daddy, okay?" He nodded and she placed a hand over his face and murmured,_

"_Heal, please." And, despite her age and hugely draining blast of energy, she made the cuts heal up, or at least begin to scab over. She helped him up and together they walked, watching for anybody, human or house elf alike, to the drawing room, where she helped the boy into the fireplace and handed him Floo powder,_

"_You need to go to St. Mungo's, they can call your parents. What's your name?"_

"_Re—"_

"_You need to leave, now! Go!"_

"_St. Mungo's Lobby!" And the boy was gone in a flash of green flames, just as her parents came in,_

"_Where is he? Where's the boy?" The girl set her chin defiantly, _

"_Gone. I sent him home."_

"_You what? You insolent, little girl. How dare you? Crucio!" And Melanie Jasmine Malfoy-Taylor's world fell to fire and pain again, just like every other day in this Hell she calls home._

_The next day, when she woke up, in the Wine Cellar, ironically enough, she heard her parents screaming upstairs. Her mother came down, looking like she was going to crucify her eldest daughter,_

"_Because of you and your stupid behavior, the contract is broken! You cost us a bonding with the Black family, you little brat! Walburga heard and called it off immediately, she said she didn't want a possible Gryffindor like you tainting the ways her heir thinks!" Her mother's hand cracked against her face, leaving tears in her eyes. She was left in the Wine Cellar with nothing to eat or drink for four days._


	17. An Unexpected Visit

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

**So, hi, again, and yay for chapter 17. We get the full force of the previous home life of our favorite pureblooded runaways, and an appearance of Madam Pomfrey's surprise badassery. I know it's not a real word, but it is in my world. **

**I know, these have been major downers, but the next one will be happy, but then the end of November will roll around and dun-dun-DUN what's going to happen in November? Do you remember? I know I do. :(  
**

**Read, Review, enjoy, and ask yourself: what does happen in November?  
**

**Ah, the simple things, in life. :)  
**

**Stars  
**

I was jolted awake in a much less friendly way than last time. This time a shrill "Aww" greeted me as I was pulled into the world of the waking. And the screeching of chair legs being dragged across the floor, accompanied the voice. I opened my eyes to see Lily, James, Remus, and Marlene staring at me. And Sirius. Can't forget him. They were staring at Sirius and me. In a bed. Sleeping together. Shit.

"That is so cute, pay up Lilliana!" Marlene shouted. Lily looked at us keenly,

"No, no, they're not dating. Are you?" She turned her attention to us and Sirius answered the ginger,

"Uh, no?" She cheered and Marlene groaned, but handed her a Galleon anyways,

"Lils, what was that about?"

"We made a bet on if you two were dating. I said you weren't, Marley said you were. We bet a Galleon, and as you know, you're not dating." The boys laughed and I saw Remus staring at me, keenly.

"Melanie, I know this is something really strange to bring up, but, were you ever engaged as a child?" I felt my heart skip a beat. **Did you tell him? **_No. It wasn't me. How could I? I've been here all this time. _**Sorry.**

"Yes, Remus, I was engaged as a child, but the contracted was discarded when we were eight."

"When who were eight?" I looked at my hands.

"Sirius and I." Lily gasped and dropped her Galleon to the floor. James spit out the Pumpkin Juice he had been drinking, and Marlene squealed.

"You and him—you two were _engaged_?" Lily sputtered,

"Evans, calm down, we weren't actually _engaged_, per say, we were technically promised," cue air quotes, "to each other." Remus zoned back in on his target objective,

"What made your parents cancel the agreement?" I looked him straight in the eye and quietly answered,

"I think you already know the answer to that, Remus." I felt Sirius tense from his awkward behind me, yet next to position.

"Why did you do it?" Sirius' voice came out as a warning to his best friend,

"Moony…be very careful. Only a handful of people know about this, and other then the two of us and you, no one in this room does." I was wrong then: he hadn't told James. Huh, who knew?

"Melanie, why did you do it?" Remus' voice was cold, and I knew exactly why: all his life, he hid from pity. It was his greatest fear. Not hatred, not disgust. Pity. He thought that by saving his life, I had felt pity for him. He was wrong though, I hadn't felt pity for him, I had felt disgust for my father and Fenrir Greyback.

"I was scared and not in control of my magic, Remus. I reacted to someone being hurt. The end."

"What happened when your parents caught you? Don't say they didn't I saw them coming the room as I left." I said nothing.

"Melanie. What. Happened." He grated the words out from between his teeth. I thought about the date and realized the Full Moon was less then a week away. Uh-oh. Wolfy temper it is then.

"Remus."

"No, Sirius. Let her answer this. Stop trying to save her ass."

"Save her ass? First of all, she saved your life, and has nothing to be ashamed of. Moony, the only reason I'm trying to get you to stop is because I know what answer you're going to get, and I know that you're really not going to like it. So I will say it one more time: Stop. Stop while you're ahead, friend." Remus turned on me,

"You told him? You told him, but won't tell me? I'm the one responsible!"

"That's why I'm not going to tell you. You see yourself as responsible."

"I'm not going to be mad at you, Melanie."

"I don't care about that, be mad at me all you want. It's whether or not you'll be mad at yourself for leaving is what concerns me."

"I won't be I swear." I sighed. He wasn't going to give up.

"Fine. Four days in the Wine Cellar with no food or water." I heard everyone but Sirius gasp, and I remembered that there was more than just the three of us in the room.

"Four days?" I nodded at Moony, "But that's not all is it? _Is it_?" I whispered one word, so quietly I didn't know if he had heard.

"_Crucio_." Lily actually swayed where she stood and James shoved a chair under her, which she fell into heavily. They apparently heard. Lils looked mortified,

"Is that, you know…_usual_, for your families?" Sirius answered hollowly this time,

"Nah, they only use Unforgivables if they're in a right fit. It's usually just a couple of slicing curses around the limbs and midsection for minor infractions. Can't forget that one time dear old Dad punched me in the face though, and made me tell everyone it was James. Sorry mate." James shrugged and waved a hand, as if saying, 'eh'. "Oh, and I think one time your did threatened to hex your eyes out over dinner one time, Mel, if I'm not mistaken." I nodded. That he had done.

Or, tired to, until my lovely mother had interfered and said no one would marry a girl with no eyes. I appreciated that. I liked my eyes where they were. Which was solidly in my face. Thanks Mom, you bitch. I spoke up,

"I've been kicked and slapped to, though. The best part is when the younger siblings sit there and laugh as you cry our eyes out as one of your parents kick you in the ribs. Or what about the time, when we were thirteen, that they finally figured out that physical punishment wasn't a deterrent and decided that because you were caught telling Regulus about how Muggle-borns were actually people, they had to bring me over and pull out the Cruciatus Curse on me, instead, just for some added mental instability later in life." I felt him shiver from behind me.

I remembered that day well: the blinding pain, the fire that was everywhere and Sirius shouting my name, mixed with his sobs and pleas for Walburga to stop were heard over the roar of the blood running through my ears and the screams coming from my throat for what seemed like hours. I later found out it was about 6 and a half minutes.

My parents had left me with the Blacks for weeks after that, letting poor, poor Sirius take care of me, letting him feel the full aftermath of the curse. The screaming nightmares, the violent shaking, the vomiting two or three times a day, he all had to deal with. Reg was forbidden to help and God knows Walburga or Orion didn't want to anyways, they were content to watch their son pick up the pieces they had torn me into.

I guessed he remembered that day well too, but from a very different point of view. I couldn't imagine watching my best friend being tortured like that. Watching my parents make him scream and writhe on the floor, wishing for death. I decided then and there that I got the better end of the deal, and that I would rather take the curse myself than have to see that.

I wiggled closer to him and he wrapped a possessive arm around me. I knew he could feel the slight tremors coming off me, at the memories of that day. But here I was safe. Here I was untouchable, and the shaking stopped at the thought of my parents being unable to get to me here.

Just then the doors banged open and my sister came in, closely followed by none other than Andrew and Jasmine Taylor. Fuck. I remembered what Regulus had said last night, during his and Cissy's 'potions session', _"…Andrew and Jasmine were told about what happened". _The school had had no option but to tell my parents about my recent bout of illness, and here they were. In the Hospital Wing.

All three of them made to come over to where we were, when there was a mass of movement. James, Lily, Marlene, Peter, Alice and Remus all stood to face my relatives, and drew their wands. I wasn't quite sure when Peter and Alice had arrived, but I was glad to see them anyways. I also realized that they all pointed their wands directly in my family members faces', which looked rather outraged at this, by the way. My wand was next to Sirius' on the bedside table, which was next to him and he silently handed it to me, while grasping his own rather tightly. My father looked outraged,

"Wha—what is this? Who are all of you people? Let us through!" James stepped forward and spoke coldly,

"They're our family, and here's close enough for all of our likings. Well, actually we'd all like it if you'd just leave, but seeing as I'm rather doubtful on that one, here's good." I was rather touched. Thanks for making me feel like a big marshmallow, Jamesie. Lily looked my mother straight in the eye,

"I think it's time to leave now, Mrs. Taylor. You've overstayed your welcome. Good-bye." Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and observed the scene in front of her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, would you kindly escort your daughter out of the Hospital Wing, I see no reason for you to be here." My mother finally spoke,

"We have every right to be here! She's our daughter!" Then Poppy Pomfrey just about told some of the most powerful people in the world where to shove it,

"Could have fooled me. All three of you: get out before I force you to leave." Everyone in the room stared at her, and she made good on her promise to force them to leave and flicked her wand, making them fly out of the room, the doors slamming behind them. I broke down into tears, and I wasn't all that surprised to hear Sirius sobbing into my hair at the same time.

My family now included Poppy Pomfrey, and I'm pretty sure his did too.


	18. 100 Years

**Disclaimer: You got it by now.**

**Okay, so I just want to say, on a completely depressing note, that because of how I have the plot lined up, I'm going to have to push up Regulus' death significantly, which I'm really not happy about. Lizaluvsdoggies: You asked about the sibling marriages, it's not going to be a problem. But, I've got to do it to keep the plot I have right now, (which is totally AU for those of you who haven't guessed) and I feel really bad about having to let him go.  
**

**Review, enjoy, and I;m going to go to sleep now,  
**

**Stars  
**

We were both released from the Hospital Wing three days later, all of which we had spent lying in the same bed, as we had when we were kids, and talking and laughing at each other and the friends that dropped by. Then Rita Skeeter came by to see her 'Siri-poo'. We had been both been asleep when she and the rest of the infamous fan club came by, and they just about threw a fit when they found me asleep on his chest.

Needless to say, their indignant shrieks were enough to wake the dead in Tibet, let alone a couple of sleeping teenagers right next to them. We had both jolted awake, and had drawn wands, and Rita Skeeter was oozing leeches from her eyes on the other side of the room, flat on her ass, before she knew what was happening, or I realized that they weren't actual threats. I was, fortunately, in light of my recent near death experience, let off, also because I suspected Minnie thought it was funny. I know I thought it was. And judging by the fact Sirius couldn't stop laughing at her, he did too.

When we were released, because it was a Sunday, I assumed that the entire fan club would be outside the Hospital Wing waiting to try to have possible forced sex with Sirius and threaten me with bodily harm, and I was, unfortunately, correct. There they all were, in all their too-sweetly scented glory. I think I could actually feel my opinion of my own gender dropping as I looked at them. Oh, gag. The high-pitched giggles were too much. Please, spare me.

SIRIUS POV

I smelled the fan club before I saw them. Vanilla, cookies, food scented perfume was everywhere. Like, everywhere. I saw Melanie tense beside me, she hated the fan club more than I did, which was saying something: I really hate them. They made Valentine's Day a nightmare. I don't think I've ever made a public appearance on that cursed day.

But, I digress. _Are you going to help me? _She smirked.** Wasn't planning on it…But if you insist…**_ And I do. _**Fine. You're such a baby, have I ever told you that before? **_Many times, Mel. Many times. _Then she had a total change of character. She's been my friend since diapers, and she still kind of scares me sometimes. She looked Rita up and down and stalked right up to her,

"Do you mind moving?" Rita's lip curled,

"Who's asking?"

"I am bitch, so get out of the way before you meet the same sticky fate."

"Same fate as who?" She smiled a cold smile. Nothing like her genuine one,

"Walburga Black. I'm assuming you heard what happened to his mother over summer." Her eyes widened in fear and the fan club parted like the Red Sea. _Thank you. _**Eh, don't worry about it. It's too much fun for me to hate doing it.**I chuckled and slung an arm over her shoulder as we walked away, both aware of the stares the club was boring into our backs.

Unaware was one word I would use to describe Melanie. So unaware of the looks boys gave her. Thomas Wood was a complete idiot, who wanted in her, surprising virginal, pants. **Were you thinking about my virginity? **_Erm, no. What did you get that from? _**Hmm…I could have sworn…** And now I have to watch what I think. Anyways, all boys wanted it, and if it wasn't her, it was Marlene, Alice or Lily, leaving us boys on high alert pretty much all the time.

The guys around here had gotten the message pretty quick after Marley's ex cheated on her, and he was put in St. Mungo's because he was blabbering about hair-dryers non-stop. The message being: break their hearts and deal with the Marauders. It was apparently an effective message, seeing as they've been allowed to walk over the boys who had the guts to come up to them ever since the Marlene incident.

Some still asked Marlene and Alice out, though rather half-heartedly, because Marlene was kind of a man-eater and Alice was totally in love with 7th year Frank Longbottom. I think Lily has had two (other than James, of course) boys ask her out, and no one has ever asked Mellie out, much to everyone's disbelief. When I had asked Alice about this, she had rolled her eyes and said,

"Honestly, do boys see anything? They see her as your best friend, James' little sister, and Remus' pretty much cousin. She's off-limits, and everyone knows it. Break Melanie Taylor's heart and you'll have a one-way ticket to the mental institution is the general gist of the threat that you've laid out at their feet. Really, are you _sure_ you have eyes?" Well, that answered that.

Anyways, Thomas came up to her and smiled. As he looked down her shirt. Classy, man, real fucking classy.

"Hey, Melanie, glad to see you're okay. What happened?" She smiled genuinely at him,

"Ah, just some stomach bug. Nothing to worry about." I was in half a mind to shout the real reason at him, but I held my tongue.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. Oh, and let me know if you need help with Potions this year." My lips twitched remembering my brother's bad excuse for being in the corridors at one in the morning.

"I more than likely will, I'll let you know." He passed and she frowned. **He did **_**not**_** look down my shirt. He's nice, Sirius, lay off.** _If that's what helps you sleep at night. _**You're such an ass.**_ That's not news to anyone. _Then he wheeled around to face us again just as Mel was letting out a bark of laughter (a habit she picked up from me),

"Black! Practice tomorrow. Be on the Pitch at 5." I nodded at him.

"Sure thing, Wood." I looked at her, "How'd you know I thought he looked down your shirt? Which he did, by the way."

"Did not, and I could tell because all of a sudden you got really upset and got this expression on your face like what James had on when that guy 'accidentally' looked up Lily's skirt. Face it, Black, I know you too well. I can't hear your thoughts, no more than you can hear mine." Then her train of thought was completely derailed, "Look at Reg's arm." I did and felt my heart drop to somewhere between my knees and feet. There was a bandage wrapped around his left forearm.

"He did it. He actually did it." I whispered despite the fact we were in a loud, crowded room and I was well aware that even though she was standing next to me, Melanie wouldn't be able to hear me. I then felt a smaller hand slip into mine. I looked down to see Mel had taken my hand in hers, and squeezed tightly. We stood there, together, watching my brother.

He looked up, sensing our stares, most likely, and his soft smile turned into horror when he looked at me. But then I realized: he wasn't looking at me, but next to me. There were silent tears falling down the brunette's face, leaving tear tracks that sparkled on her cheeks. Without further ado, Melanie Taylor, once more made a rather dramatic exit from the Great Hall, leaving the stunned Black brothers in her wake. And once more, it was me that ran after her, and not Regulus.

"Mel! Mellie!" I called and called and she ran and ran and ran until I realized I could just…_MELANIE. _She slammed to a halt and I almost smashed into her back. We were outside the Room of Requirement.

The door appeared and we entered into a Gryffindor Common Room look-alike, but much smaller, with a grand piano in the corner.

"Mel…are you okay?"

"I will be in a minute, just give me a second…" She walked over to the piano and closed her eyes, and began to play softly and sing a song I was quite familiar with.

_**I'm fifteen for a moment  
Caught in between ten and twenty  
And I'm just dreaming  
Counting the ways to where you are**__  
_I silently walked over and began to play the rhythm under her melody and picked up the lyrics…

_**I'm twenty two for a moment  
She feels better than ever  
And we're on fire  
Making our way back from Mars**__  
_I could feel the broken girl next to me shaking with the words, and it broke my heart to see what my brother could do. Melanie beings to sing over me, and I can hear her voice trembling, but growing stronger. I realized this is how she heals. This was how she's been fixing herself for the past 15 years.

_**Fifteen there's still time for you  
Time to buy and time to lose  
Fifteen, there's never a wish better than this  
When you only got hundred years to live **_

I take over the verse, and all of a sudden I feel her emotions and hers, along with mine come in a complete outpouring of words.

_**I'm thirty three for a moment  
Still the man, but you see I'm of age  
A kid on the way, babe  
A family on my mind  
I'm forty five for a moment  
The sea is high  
And I'm heading into a crisis  
Chasing the years of my life  
**_She begins to join me, and she isn't the same person that started the song, she was better, not completely, but she was fixing herself, and I found it amazing to watch.

_**Fifteen there's still time for you  
Time to buy, time to lose yourself  
Within a morning star  
Fifteen I'm all right with you  
Fifteen, there's never a wish better than this  
When you only got hundred years to live.**_

She whispered the last line of the song quietly,

"_Because every day's a new day._" This was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life.

It made me so incredibly glad to have followed her, because it had started to heal me, too.

**Oh, and the song, "100 Years" belongs to Five for Fighting and their recording label, no copyright infringement intended, and all that jazz. I also know it's the wring time period, but that's too bad.**

**P.S. Sorry for the Fluff :)  
**


	19. The Jersey

**Disclaimer: Don't own it and all that jazz. **

**Hi! I'm really proud of this one and for the first time in like ever, it's a completely light hearted chapter, even the sad stuff seems happy! So, this idea just kind of came to me in my Algebra class of all places (Sorry Ms. Thompson) and it just wouldn't leave me alone so I came here and typed it all up and here it is: chapter 19. :)  
**

**Review and enjoy and all of that fun stuff.  
**

**Stars  
**

**P.S. Sirius gets naked in this chapter. So, with that in mind, read on. ;)**

MELANIE POV

The Dark Mark haunted me in my dreams, and so, most nights, I ended up in the boys' dorms, crying my eyes out into one of the boy's shoulders. James was pretty tolerant and would let me cry for a couple minutes until he tried to get me to stop, Remus would let me sit for about half an hour before he too would make me stop, and every time Peter saw me come in, he hid. Not like I could blame him.

Sirius was, surprisingly, the best with it. I'd come in, and he'd quietly get up and walk me over to his bed, and lay down with me, and silence the curtains, out of courtesy for his roommates, and would let me cry. And cry, and cry, until I fell asleep.

James would graciously let me use the invisibility cloak to get out of their dorm, and everyday, I'd return it back to them, after I got back to my dorm.

The last thing I needed was for the fan club to see me coming out of the boys' dorms like every morning. Even though I cried almost every night, I was slowly but surely making progress, accepting that Reg wasn't coming back, and nothing I did was going to help that.

Soon, Christmas Break was less then a week away. I decided to stay here, to give myself some thinking time, while Lily, Remus, Peter, and James were going home to their respective houses. Marlene was going to Alice's and Sirius was staying here with me, neither of us wanted to intrude on Evans and Potter family times, which we both felt like we were doing, no matter how much Lils and James told us otherwise.

The weekend before Break, there was a Quidditch match, one of the most anticipated of the year: Slytherin v. Gryffindor. This of course meant that there were going to be fights, highly colorful swearing, and a lot of penalties on both teams.

The day of the match I rolled over to see snow outside my, er, the boys' window. I shivered and nestled further into the covers of Sirius' bed. I love snow, don't get me wrong; it's just _so_ cold during a game that can last for _hours_. You see my dilemma.

But, because two of my closest friends were playing, I was obligated to attend, and I knew once I got there I would thoroughly enjoy myself, so getting up was the only problem. I had grown accustomed to having another person in bed with me, and now I felt cold when I slept alone, and now, apparently my sense of cold was heightened or something everywhere I went.

A warm arm wrapped around me, and even though I was like 99% sure that I had only platonic feelings for Sirius, it was still nice to feel loved, no matter how brotherly the love might be. I poked Sirius hard in the arm,

"Get up, lazy. You have a game today, remember?" He groaned and buried his face in his pillow.

"Five more minutes…"

"No, Sirius, James is already up. James, Sirius." James was notorious for oversleeping just about everything. Finally, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm going to get in the shower, the cloak's under Prong's bed." And he padded into the bathroom the four shared and left me alone. I rummaged around under James' bed until I found the cloak. I slipped it on and left their room, and climbed the stairs to my dorm, still in my pajamas of spandex shorts, which were surprisingly comfortable, and a tank top, hidden under the cloak. I softly closed our door and slipped the cloak off, and tossed it on my bed, and I too went to go get a hot shower.

When I came out I charmed my hair dry and straight, a lovely charm I had picked up from somewhere. I forgot where, unfortunately. I put on a pair of sweats and a hoodie and went to go give James his cloak back. I walked into the boys' dorm without knocking, something I'd stopped doing in fourth year, and came face to face with a very naked, very well built Sirius. I screamed shrilly and slammed the door closed at the same time I heard him yell,

"Fuck, Mel!" I had seen all of his bits and parts last summer and Easter Break at the Potter's but this was different: a) it was accidental and b) we were both sober. The door opened this time to a Sirius that, thankfully, had boxers on. I looked down at my feet and muttered,

"Sorry about that." He laughed,

"Is your face turning red? Aww, wittle Mellie's embarrassed." I felt my face flush and I mumbled,

"Shut up. I came back to give the cloak back and BAM! Full frontal male nudity." He grinned at me and motioned,

"Well, you might as well come in, seeing as there's now nothing you haven't seen." I blushed again at the innuendo, but entered regardless, partially because I had too. I kept all of my Quidditch clothes in the boys' room, because of the way girls were, we didn't have enough room in our dorm, let alone in the closets, so, clothes that I needed to know where they were at all times were kept in the boys' room. I opened the small trunk that I kept under Remus' (bless that boy) bed and began to rummage around for appropriate clothes as the now partially clothed Sirius did push-ups (He said it was to get the blood flowing. I said it was to make him look like a douche). I groaned. This was the first cold match of the year, and hadn't needed to wear my heavy Gryffindor shirt yet.

"It must have been in the wash when I left." I murmured to myself, but Sirius heard and answered,

"What?"

"My thick shirt. Pinky must have been washing it when I left. It's not here."

"Borrow someone's."

"I can't. I'm pretty sure we all have only one."

"Wear a jacket."

"No way! How is that in the proper spirit?"

"Fine then! I have a old flannel jersey if you want it." I considered it.

"Maybe, I'm going to ask Lily first, maybe she _does_ have another." I walked back to the dorm knowing full well Lily didn't. I just needed to ask her something.

"Lils! I have an emergency!" She emerged from the bathroom with Marlene and Alice hopped off her bed, to listen.

"What's the emergency?"

"I left my flannel shirt at the Estate."

"Mel, none of us have an extra, you know that. Why's the real reason you're here?" Alice squealed,

"I know! Who on the team offered?" I mumbled an indistinguishable answer to the trio,

"Hm?" Marley asked, not hearing me

"Sirius." Lily squealed and Marley and Alice high-fived victoriously. Lily shouted,

"I knew it! I knew it!" I sighed,

"Knew what, Lils?"

"A guy giving you a Quidditch jersey is like if a dog pees in you, which you should know all about."

"Shut up." I sing-songed

"Sorry, but really. It's a territory thing, wearing a shirt with a guy's last name on it? It's him marking his territory."

"So what did you know?"

"How thick are you, Melanie? He _likes_ you."

"That's funny, Lils, tell it again."

"I'm not kidding. I've never seen him do that for any of his girlfriends, and you're not even dating. You should do it." Marlene and Alice both voiced their agreement. I threw my hands up.

"Fine! Okay, just wanted an objective view, and hey, Rita's face when she sees that? Priceless." The other three laughed at the mental image and I grabbed a pair of super low-rise, dark wash skinny jeans, a pair of fuzzy boots, and a couple hair ties. I headed back to the boys' dorm with the said objects and entered to Sirius _still_ doing push-ups.

"Did she have one?"

"No. I thought she didn't, but it was worth a shot." Three shirtless push-ups later he answered,

"The old shirt's still going to be too big for you, even though I was like a fourth year when I wore it. Are you okay with that?" I nodded and he finally stopped the incessant push-ups, and walked over to his trunk and began to rummage around until he extracted a worn out crimson long-sleeved shirt, with the number 4 and BLACK printed across the top of the back, both in gold. He tossed it at me and I grabbed it out of the air, thoughtlessly. It looked like the mutilated one that was in my trunk, but wasn't cotton, and hadn't been attacked with scissors to fit a girl's fashion tendencies.

It was worn and soft, clearly having received a lot of love from its owner and was thick, the kind of material that can keep the chill away on the coldest of nights. He was right, even though I was two years older than when he had worn it, it was still far too big, and was going to have to be tied up with a hair tie. We both began to change in the middle of the room, as James was probably down at the Pitch and Remus and Peter were nowhere to be seen.

I pulled on my jeans and boots, and pulled the big jersey over my head. It fell of one of my shoulders a little and went to my knees. I gathered up the extra fabric in the back and tied it up under the shirt, making it tighter at the hips, leaving an inch of skin exposed, which I quickly covered with it. It was still baggy, but I was just going to have to deal with it.

Just then Lils burst in and grabbed me by the elbow screaming, "Abduction!" as she went. I was led back up to our dorm and as soon as we came in, there was an explosion of "Aww" from every angle. Lily grinned her Cheshire grin and laughed,

"You really want to piss Skeeter off? Wear your hair up. Make it obvious whose it is." I laughed at her devious mind and put my hair up into a high ponytail, which despite its lofty position, still fell to the middle of my back. My hair was long, hanging at my waist when it's down, and I liked it like that. You could now obviously see what the name on the jersey was. Marley chimed in,

"The shirt's trying to ride up a little isn't it?" I nodded and she too grinned,

"Let it. Sweetie, you rock men's wear, has anyone ever told you that?" I snorted,

"No, not really." She came over and gently pulled at the shirt, again exposing the inch of skin at my hips, where concealment charms hid my scars. Lils did my make-up and this was becoming an ordeal I hadn't foreseen. We were leaving when, on a whim, I grabbed a beanie to cover my ears, if I decided to take my hair out of the ponytail, and shoved it in Marlene's bag, which she took with her everywhere. I shoved my wand in my back pocket and we closed the door to our room, and went downstairs to the Common Room. We came down the stairs and people began to stare, and I had no idea why, until I heard someone whisper,

"_Whose is it?"_I had no idea that a shirt could have these kinds of repercussions, but there was no way Lils, Marley, and Alice would let me back out now. Just then, someone called out,

"Lily! Mel! Marley! Alice! Over here!" Remus and Peter were beckoning us over and made our way over, people eagerly trying to grab a glance at my back. The girls who saw the name on the jersey gave horrified gasps and their boyfriends frowned at them. Remus gave me a sly smile,

"Nice shirt Mellie." I laughed and rolled my eyes,

"Thanks Moony. I left mine at the estate." I easily explained. Just then, Sirius Black himself came out of his dorm, in full Quidditch gear, with his Beater's bat slung over his shoulder. He came over to us,

"Hey guys. Nice shirt Mellie." I flipped him off, but smiling, taking away any real meaning, as Marley offered to keep his bat in her bag (undetectable extension charm). He gratefully accepted and dropped it in with my hat and several other things Marley always has with her (tampons, lipstick, wand, and survival essentials like a tent, emergency potions and salves, and small quantities of magically persevered food. We _are_ in a war after all). If you're going to be stranded, Marlene McKinnon was the person you want to be with. Lily checked her watch and said briskly,

"Let's go, you lot, or we're going to miss breakfast." We all left the Common Room and went down to the Great Hall to finally get food. We were just entering when I smelled vanilla perfume. It was Rita Skeeter and I didn't have to even turn around to know it.

"Siri?" Gag. Please, just stop. Please. Kill me, I beg you.

"Yes, Rita?" His voice was fake and tight, trying not to yell at her. It's why they (the fan club) were so insistent, because he was too nice to say anything to them. So, he just avoided them like the plague when he could and hid behind his friends (mainly me) when he couldn't.

"Who's your friend?" Her voice was cold, and I wondered momentarily who she was talking about, then I realized it was me. My back was still to her, because unlike Sirius, the rest of us hadn't turned around to face her, just stopped where we were walking. I smirked at Lily who was within my range of vision and she giggled and nodded. I turned around to face her with a condescending smile playing on my lips,

"Hey Rita. What's up? Ready for the game? Which team are you rooting for?" I would have felt bad for her if she hadn't put me in the Hospital Wing and told the whole school I was a skank. In the school newspaper, that bitch. She looked like someone had kicked her in the face. She was stunned. Completely taken by surprise. And I found it quite hilarious.

"No answer? Hmm, for someone who spreads so many rumors, you say surprisingly little. Maybe you should see a healer for that, they can fix any kind of condition, well, they can try, and hey, what do you have to lose, really?" I smirked and she looked like she was going to throw up.

I smiled brightly at her and brushed past her, and joined James at the Gryffindor table, leaving the others staring at me, Lily and Sirius unsurprised, Marlene, Remus, Alice, and Peter, slightly more so, just because they haven't lived with me, unlike the other two. Well, I kind of lived with Sirius; God knows we saw each other enough over the summer for it to count. I shook my hair out and Marley handed me my red beanie that I pulled on my head. Suddenly Wood came over,

"Black, Potter! Locker room, now!" All of a sudden some of the signature Black Family aggression came over Sirius. I glanced at his face and he was rather intensely staring at Wood, who was staring at me with what looked like a slightly disapproving look on his face. But as quickly as it had come, it had vanished. His head was back in the game and he and James left with parting goodbyes to us, with him. **Don't die. **_Thanks, be good. _**What kind of advise is that? When am I **_**ever**_** good?** _Fair enough. You win this round Taylor. _**What round did I lose?**_ Shh. Team meeting. _**Well, then. Hey, you can hear me from the Pitch.**_ Go us. Now be quiet._

Together, the rest of us got up and began the trek out to the Quidditch Pitch. We finally were in the stands and I found myself between Lily and Remus, in the front row, 10 minutes before the match started. And it was Justas cold as I thought it would be, and I was extremely thankful that I hadn't passed on the heat-trapping jersey.

The teams then flew out onto the Pitch. The Gryffindors were looping around and stopping occasionally to have conversations with their friends in the crowd. The Slytherins however, looked like they were in like a v-formation, trying to be as intimidating as possible. James came over and paused by us,

"Hey, kiss for luck Lilyflower?" Marlene had restrained her and I had taken her wand before the whole sentence was out of his mouth. True to form she moved towards him and tried to punch him,

"NO POTTER! GET LOST OR SOMETHING!" James, also true to form, let it roll right off his shoulders and jokingly turned to me expectantly, I looked back at him faking innocence,

"What?" He did the puppy (stag?) eyes at me, and my resolve crumbled, "fine! Come here." I grumbled and he leaned forward and I kissed his forehead and whispered,

"Don't die." He laughed and stole my beanie, stuffing it in his robe pocket.

"JAMES CHARLUS POTTER! IF YOU LOSE THAT, I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!" The other's snickered and Marlene asked,

"Charlus?"

"What? It's my dad's name." Then Madam Hooch blew the whistle and he flew off to begin the match, my beanie still in his pocket, that bastard.


	20. The Slytherins' Gift

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

**Hi! So, I know I didn't update over the long weekend, BUT I did write enough to get us through almost the entire week with daily updates.  
**

**Oh, and please don't hate me for the ending of this one.  
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**Stars.  
**

A week later, I woke up to an empty boys' dorm, completely unsurprised that they had left without saying goodbye. Next to me, on Sirius' pillow was a stack of folded letters. The top one had my name written on the front in the elegant script of a boy who had been forced to take calligraphy lessons as a child. I opened it as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

_Mellie,_

_I just left to take the others to the platform. They all left notes instead of saying goodbye because we all know how little sleep you get. Finish reading the letters and I'll be back by the time you're done._

_Sirius_

_P.S. We have all of Gryffindor Tower to ourselves, how cool is that?!_

_Mel,_

_Have a wonderful Christmas and try not to kill Sirius, yourself, or anyone else while we're gone (except Skeeter. You can kill her. You officially have my blessing). Watch for my present in the mail next week._

_Marley_

_Taylor,_

_I still have your beanie; it will be enclosed in your present. Happy Christmas, and give Padfoot a whack on the head from me._

_Prongs_

_Mel,_

_I'm going to miss my best friend so much over the next month, but I'm just going to have to deal with it! I'll tell Tuney that you're at school but that you wish her a Happy Christmas, which I know you do, and give Mom and Dad a hug from you._

_Lots of Love,_

_Lils_

_Melanie,_

_It's going to be so weird not having you on the train with us, but I guess I'll just have to find someone else to blow my eyebrows off in Exploding Snap. Happy Christmas, my present will be in the mail next week._

_Wormtail_

_Mel,_

_You drool while you sleep, first off, and I just want to let you know that you don't have to worry like you always do, because Prongs is coming over on the Full Moon over break to help me out. So, you and Pads can rest easy, knowing that none of us are alone._

_Kick Sirius' ass in Wizard's Chess for me over break. Repeatedly. Just drive him into the ground, won't you?_

_Moony_

_Mellie,_

_I'll make sure James gives you your beanie back, fear not, milady. Have Happy Christmas, and I'll see you next year, girlie._

_Alice_

I laughed at how typical of each person the notes were and as soon as I set Alice's down, sure enough, Sirius came in, singing Muggle Christmas music cheerily. I grinned at him,

"You're awfully good at this timing thing, aren't you?"

"You betcha. Wanna go down and get some food?" I stood up and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth, my toiletries, and other necessities all in the boys' room now, and answered,

"Er, are we under dressed?" I was in a pair of black yoga pants and the poor, poor jersey that I had taken a pair of scissors to. My hair was in a sloppy bun and I had no make-up on. Sirius, even though he had already been up and about, had a t-shirt on and a pair of sweat pants. He shrugged at me as I walked out of the bathroom, feeling minty freshness filling my mouth.

"Eh, it's break, who cares?" I laughed and agreed,

"Fine, but I need to put a bra on." He shrugged and made no effort to move.

"Ow! Fine, fine! I'm leaving, you nuts woman!" He shouted as I beat him repeatedly over the head with one of the textbooks James had left behind. I put my bra on, _alone_, and we were off, heading down to the Great Hall.

When we got there, there were only 3 other students; of course, I had to know all of them. Cissy and Lucius were seated together at one end of the customary smaller table, and unfortunately, there was Rita Skeeter, sitting alone, quite out of place, the Hufflepuff looking quite uncomfortable in the midst of so many high power purebloods. Minnie had apparently taken pity on her and was uninterestedly listening to whatever Rita was saying. All were dressed in nice comfy, yet slightly nicer than your average t-shirt and jeans, clothes.

I realized that we were, in fact, quite underdressed, both of us being barefoot. The only two seats that were still empty were between Lucius and Rita, which left us with an interesting situation: Either I could sit next to Lucius and we might end up killing each other, and Sirius would be next to Rita and would end up being raped, or I could sit next to Rita and the whole school would explode in estrogen fueled arguments and Sirius could sit next to Lucius and they would _definitely_ kill each other. We looked at each other, and giving in, I took the seat next to Lucius, feeling quite bad about what was going to happen to Sirius over Breakfast, being seated next to the Skeeter, after all. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat trying to dispel the awkwardness in the room.

Then suddenly, Lucius shoved a large roll of parchment into my hands and then refused to acknowledge that it had even happened. _Let's go to the kitchens._** Agreed, this is horrible.** I said nothing about the roll of parchment, knowing full well Dumbles could hear everything we were saying, being the Legimens he is. Isn't that right Dumbles? He chuckled and winked his "I'm old, crazy and know everything" wink. Simultaneously, we rose and easily bowed out of the meal, and both padded down to the kitchens, barefoot.

We were eating French toast when Sirius finally spoke,

"What's bothering you? I can tell something's wrong, Mel." I lifted the disillusionment charm I had placed over the parchment in the Great Hall, and held it up.

"This. My cousin slipped it to me in the Great Hall."

"What is it?"

"I have no idea." He ginned mischievously,

"Let's find out." I unrolled it to find there was a hastily scribbled note shoved into it. I'm getting a lot of those today.

_Ellie,_

_These are the papers you need. Be strong and do what we could not, sister._

_Cissy and Reg_

I unrolled it to see that it was a single sheet of parchment, and the top read in bog bold letters, **APPLICATION FOR MINOR EMANCIPATION **they had done it, somehow, someway, Cissy and Reg had gotten their hands on the papers I needed to slam the brakes on my family's evil plans. But there were two, and there was another note attached to the second one:

_For Sirius,_

_Two's better than one, I suppose._

_R.A.B._

Hm, who knew? Once we were done with out French toast, we went back to the Common Room and summoned some quills and ink and began the arduous process of filling out the applications. Neither of us moved nor really spoke until we had finished the applications. It was near midnight, and we had begun at close to nine in the morning. Sirius extracted the Map from his pocket and we went down to the Owlery, watching the map for Filtch or any teachers.

We made to the Owlery and we sent the applications along on separate owls, both used by the school as I didn't have an owl and Sirius' golden owl, Apollo, ironically enough, was much to recognizable (poor thing got in the way of a stray color change spell once, and we haven't found a way to fix it). Sirius carried me back to the dorm and we both fell asleep, our dreams filled with a world that was filled with freedom, one that didn't seem so far away, anymore.

The days slipped by, and most of them went like this: We would wake up in Sirius' bed, get dressed (maybe. Some days were full of pajamas), go outside and have snowball fights, walk around the school, go to the Room of Requirement, then lunch, sitting around the fireplace in the Common Room at night on the floor laughing and talking about things that no one not even James and Lily knew. It was beautiful, and I was sad that there was almost a week of it gone.

We did go to breakfast everyday, though, waiting for the post, and to see whether we would be allowed to be come Emancipated Minors or not. It was a Monday morning, nine days after we had sent them, when two owls came through the Great Hall and dropped letters in front of us.

We exchanged a look and Sirius opened his first. He read it with a completely impassive facial expression, until he reached the end of the paper, where he gave a loud cry of excitement.

"They approved it. I'm free!" He picked me up and spun me around in the middle of the Great Hall, in front of all our teachers. I laughed and hugged him tightly.

"That's great, Padfoot." I opened mine expecting the exact same letter.

But I didn't get it.

**I DID ask you not to hate me for the cliffhanger, but if you have to, go for it.**

**Next one coming tomorrow. :)  
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**Review guys.  
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	21. Only Half Free

**Disclaimer: You get it by now.**

**So, this is kind of a filler chapter, but in a strange kind of, Sirius discovering his undiscovered love way. Kind of. Okay, so no one be mad about the fact they have to get all up in her parents' business, because it's more fun that way. Trust me.  
**

**Oh, and remember her (kind of) social worker, Jane Bones (mother to Amelia Bones), because about half of the next chapter will be from her point of view.  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
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**Oh, and I put pictures of what I imagined they look like on my profile, so check it out if you want. :)  
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**Stars.  
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**P.S. These people really have problems with nudity, well, sort of. You'll see what I mean. ;)  
**

SIRIUS POV

I was free. 100%, unequivocally free. I laughed and spun Mellie around and she laughed and hugged me as she opened her letter. Then her face fell. Everyone looked at her with the same, confused look, she wordlessly handed it to me.

_Miss. Taylor,_

_We have received your application for Emancipation and we have to sadly inform you that your parents have contended the accusations in it. Your father seems to believe that you are a mentally unstable girl, being influenced by the mindset of those around you._

_Unfortunately, you parents are both extremely highly ranked here, and if they wish to contend it, they have every right and means to do so, and it is likely, that if they wish to have it overturned, it may very well be._

_Please come to my office at the date specified below for a meeting,_

_Sincerely,_

_Jane Bones_

_Head of the Misuse of Magical Children Department of the Ministry of Magic_

Without another word, I pushed her from the Great Hall. I led her to the kitchens and asked one of the elves for some kind of calming food or tea or something at all.

The elves brought her tea and she just sat there, shaking and looking terrified of what was to come.

I didn't know what to do. We had never even considered for a moment that our parents would contend it, but it made sense in hindsight, Andrew and Jasmine had no intention of letting their eldest daughter leave if they were still writing a marriage contract for her. Andrew Taylor, unlike my father, put on this whole front, like, look-at-me-I'm-a-good-dad. Most people didn't see the abuse we did from them, and those that did, well they wouldn't step forward to help Melanie, even if the opportunity was laid down at their feet.

She looked at me, completely helpless and broken. For the first time in my life, I was seeing her completely terrified. Even when her parents would threaten to turn the Cruciatus Curse on her, she'd always meet their threats with a level of defiance, like the more they hurt her, the more they were proving her right. But not now, no, now she was terrified, completely and utterly scared to death of what could happen.

"She wants to meet me tomorrow. Tomorrow. Will you come?" I hesitated,

"Mel, I don't know…"

"Please. I can't do this on my own. I'm scared and upset, and terrified that I'll have to go back to that place. I don't want that. I need someone there to hold my hand and to tell me that it's okay. Please, Sirius. Please." I was going to say no. I was going to say that she needed to do this on her own for some self-discovering journey. But then she said my name, and all my willpower crumbled. She was begging me to be strong for her when she couldn't be for herself. And then I realized that I couldn't say no, I couldn't throw her to the sharks like that. I smiled at her gently,

"Of course I'll go with you." She smiled and hugged me. We walked back to the Common Room in silence, both wrapped up in our own thoughts and my arm wrapped around her shoulders. Where I was certain that she was thinking how many different ways tomorrow could go wrong, I was thinking about when I began to give in to her so easily. I remembered a conversation James and I had in Fifth Year…

"…_It's just amazing, Prongs, I've never felt so connected to someone. I—it's unreal. I can hear her mind." _

"_Sirius. You're in love." Sirius snorted,_

"_Ha! That's rich, Sirius Black in love. Please James, I don't even have a crush on the girl." James smirked,_

"_I never had a crush on Lily, but you do the same thing I do: You'd bend over backwards to make her happy, and put yourself in immediate, life-threatening danger to keep her safe. Don't kid yourself, mate, you love her. You just don't know it yet." Sirius snorted and the boys easily changed subjects to the previously discussed Lily Evans. It was never brought up again._

Well, it was before Fifth Year, I think it was somewhere in Fourth Year. Probably near the beginning, I remember when her and Evans walked up to us, I was completely taken by surprised by the girl that had been walking next to the fiery redhead, and hadn't recognized her until she was right in front of me and I got a good look at her eyes. Her big, blue, beautiful eyes. She went from being an okay, kind of awkward looking, girl to the most desired one in the entire school in what seemed like a couple days.

Yes, that was definitely the first time I had really realized that she was someone of the opposite sex. But when had I started to bend to her will? Me, someone who vowed never to listen to anyone's will but my own. When had I given in to her? All of a sudden she came to a screeching halt, and I saw why immediately.

Lucius Malfoy was standing in the way. This was bad. Poor, poor Melanie was in no state to fight, which meant that it was just he and I.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Calm down, Black. I'm just here to pass along a message to your darling friend. It's from the Taylors. They say they're furious that you tried to embarrass them in this manner. They say that you _will_ come home and you _will_ marry Regulus." She took a step closer to me, trying to hide, and I moved my arms to her waist, protectively.

"Malfoy, can we do this another time?" She turned her back to Malfoy and buried her head in my chest. I pulled her closer until we were flush against each other, and I could feel her shaking everywhere and I rested my chin on the top of her head, easily. Lucius smirked, and nodded briskly. He was gone almost instantaneously.

I realized just then, as we were standing there, just how much of her was pressed up against me. Her chest was pushed up against my upper abdomen, and I could feel her heart pounding through both of our shirts, beating a steady and quick rhythm, amplified by the panic in her mind.

She was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. For someone so small she had awfully long legs, and had a figure most girls wanted badly, that I knew from all the rumors I had heard from our time here. Large breasts and wide hips paired with an extraordinarily tiny waist made Rita Skeeter jealous, as everyone had heard on several occasions. And it made most boys stare. I knew my best friend was beautiful, sexy even, but I had never really _seen_ it, if that makes any sense.

The only person who didn't see it was her, which was really quite a shame. She would often tell me that she hated the way she looked, how she wanted Lily's skin, how Marlene's hair made her jealous, and I would think: I guess all girls are like that, they all want what they can't have.

Now, pressed up against me, head buried in my chest, I thought that she had much prettier skin and hair than Marlene and Lily. She was lovely in this moment. Did I just use the word lovely? Oh, and now I'm becoming kind of a girl too. Good God, I need to just go to bed and start over tomorrow morning.

She snapped me from me thoughts with a gentle,

"Sirius? Are you okay?" I smiled reflexively at her,

"Yeah, let's just go back to the dorm to get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." I had no idea how we were going to get out of the castle, now that I thought about it. I supposed we could slip into the Honeydukes passageway and Floo to the Ministry from the Three Broomsticks. Rosmerta has always had a soft spot for all of us.

We slowly made our way into the dorm and began to change, neither of us embarrassed, long desensitized to each other. She never let me see her scars and it was starting to nag on me that she didn't trust me enough to take the spell off around me like I knew she did when she was just around my brother and Narcissa. She pulled off her shirt and silently tapped her stomach and all of a sudden it was like watching something being erased in reverse.

Slowly, one by one, they all started to come into view. There were long scars and wide ones, ones that looked like claw marks and others that were remnants of burns on her skin. There were three crisscrossing lines on her left hip, and I guessed that was the damage my mother had done as we had left, judging by the description of their placement Mrs. P had given me before she had woken up in St. Mungo's.

I realized that she was staring at me, wondering what my reaction was going to be. I said nothing, and continued to change my clothes. **Sirius? **

"Yes?" I replied with laughter in my voice that I was trying to suppress.

"How badly are you judging me right now?" I looked up startled, laughter gone.

"Why do you think I'm judging you? When have I ever judged you? Besides, I'm in no position to talk, I have my fair share too." I shrugged and she looked at me like I was the best thing ever. Before I knew it, she was hugging me, completely topless.

"Mel."

"I don't care. This is possibly the best thing you've ever said to me." I was fully aware of her hugging me, very tightly, and close, very much shirtless. Yeah, no bra either.

"I'm glad you're happy, but you're a very pretty, very topless girl hugging me, a very sexually frustrated 16 year old boy, and it's not helping my hormones or any other part of me. So, and I say this with as much love possible, please put a shirt on." She blushed and seemed to realize what I was saying and she turned away quickly, covering her chest, and put an old oversized t-shirt on that looked like it might belong to Remus or James. Then my mind caught up with what I had said,

_Love?_ Do I love her? I know I love her as a best friend, but do I love her more than that? As a sister? Or as something else? I decided that I'd rather not deal with that question right now, and put it to rest for tonight.

Too bad it wouldn't stay buried for much longer.

Not a word was spoken as we got dressed the next morning. Melanie put on a black high-waist skirt and her school shirt, sleeves rolled to her elbows, and the top few buttons unbuttoned, a loosely done Gryffindor tie hung around her neck. A pair of red high-heels, a full face of make-up, and a high ponytail later, she was ready to leave and was waiting impatiently for me to get dressed. I decided on a pair of black slacks and my school shirt was appropriate for the Ministry of Magic.

I threw the Invisibility Cloak that James had generously left behind, as he had no use for it at home, over both of us and we left Gryffindor Tower.

10 minutes later we were slipping into the one-eyed witch passageway. An hour later, we were out on the streets of Hogsmeade and were walking towards the Three Broomsticks. Not a word was spoken the entire time. I could feel the nervousness rolling off her, making me a little jittery, but refused to let it show for her sake.

Rosmerta looked a little surprised to see us, but said nothing but,

"How can I help you two?" Melanie spoke, surprisingly,

"We need to use the Floo, if that's okay." She hesitated and couldn't help but ask,

"And where are two Hogwarts student going, dressed like that?" I answered her, eliminating the option for any more questions,

"The Ministry. But no one is going to even know we were gone until we're back, _right_?" She seemed like she would refuse, but then gave in, motioning for us to follow her.

She led us to the back room, and handed us a bag of Floo powder.

"Floo back here. Three Broomsticks back room should do it, to get back." We both nodded gratefully and stepped in together and I shouted,

"Ministry of Magic, Atrium!" And emerald flames engulfed the world, Melanie's hand still gripping mine.

**Up next: Trip to the Ministry of Magic.**

**See you tomorrow, and don't forget to review. :D  
**


	22. The Tip of the Ministry Iceberg

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

**Hi! So,if you guys are accidentally signed out of your account when you review, I can't respond to any questions you REALLY want answered and whatever and then if someone gets mad at me for not responding, I'll feel horrible, so, if you have an account, MAKE SURE YOUR LOGGED ON before you review. If you don't have an account, that's fine, just don't expect me to answer anything because I physically can't.**

**Okay, so back to the story...I told you guys to remember her pseudo-social worker(Jane Bones), because here she comes. I thought this was WAYYY easier to write than trying to do it from just one POV.  
**

**Oh, and there's a mini-cliffhanger at the end, I'm sorry I had to end it that way, it's just the next chapter is really long, like almost double (maybe triple) the length of this one, and I didn't want to make it one giant chapter.  
**

**Sorry for the long AN, by the way.  
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**Read, review, and enjoy,  
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**Stars.  
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JANE BONES' POV

She was supposed to be here within the hour. The poor, poor Taylor girl. There was more than likely going to be someone with her, a good girlfriend; perhaps, her file said she was close to Narcissa Black and Lily Evans. Maybe a boyfriend her parents didn't know about. Just then, Jessa, my secretary, came in and said,

"Madam Bones? The Taylor girl is here to see you, and she brought someone." I smiled: teenage girls were so predictable. I smiled at her,

"Let them in Jessa." Melanie Taylor walked in, looking rather apprehensive, with no other than Sirius Black behind her, looking like he was trying not to pass out. That surprised me. I remembered them when they were children their fathers' would bring to work some days, and they were always fighting with each other, Melanie always begging to be taken home because the older Black child _must_ be evil. I wouldn't have guessed that they would ever date, or at the very least, were close friends, with a bond unrivalled by 99.99% of the world.

But, I supposed, it made sense, they were both Purebloods, the exact same age, both sorted into Gryffindor. That must have created the friendship.

"Miss. Taylor, please sit down. You too, Mr. Black." He looked surprised that I knew who he was. How could I not, I had just approved his Emancipation not two days ago. They both sat down and I began,

"Miss. Taylor—"

"Melanie. Please, just use my first name."

"Only if you call me Jane." I replied. She smiled,

"Okay, Jane, please continue."

"You have to understand that your parents are saying that they have never laid a hand, or wand, on you in your entire life, and that you are making this up, because of the young Mr. Black—"

"Sirius." He interrupted. Kids these days.

"Sorry, Sirius, here. They say that he's been a negative influence on you and that he coerced you into accusing them of child abuse." She frowned,

"Is there any way to prove them wrong?" I sighed, this was the ugly part.

"Yes, there is, you would have to go in front of the Wizengamot and present your memories of the abuse."

"What? She shouldn't have to do that! Do you know how personal that is? Do you know how much no one knows?" I was surprised to see the young Black boy become so upset so quickly. It was highly unlike his family to take a stand for someone outside the family, especially when the Blacks were well known for stabbing each other in the back, let alone other people. She whispered something to him I could barely discern,

"It's okay, Padfoot. If I have to, I have to. It won't be the end of the world, if not a little traumatizing." He seemed to relax, but kept his glare on me, trying to blast me to pieces with his mind. I idly wondered what 'Padfoot' meant, but I answered regardless

"You're absolutely right, it's not fair, and it's not right, but as of right now, our legal system can't afford to not be thorough. There's a war going on, and if your parents are a threat to you, we want you removed. But, I need to know, will you do it?" She said nothing, and they were in a stare down that gave the impression of a mental conversation.

"Yes, I'll do it. When?" Uh-oh. I was dreading this. "Tonight, would be the last time the hearing could be held, until after Christmas." Her eyes widened and so did his. I silently murmured _Legimens_. All of a sudden intertwined thoughts began to fill my mind. _Tonight? Is she serious? _**Of course not, you're Sirius. **_Please, not the pun right now. Leave my name alone. _**Sorry. Nerves. Do you think we can trust her? **_I don't think we have a choice. Either we trust her or you'll be walking down the isle to my brother. _**But, to show them my memories, that's a big decision. **_I know, are you sure you have the mental stability to do it?_** I'm not sure. I think I can do it though, could you stay with me? You won't be able to come in, but you can wait outside. **_Mel._** Please. **_Yes, I'll stay. I want to know as badly as you do whether we're going to be spending the rest of break in peace or plotting a double homicide. I'm thinking Muggle means is the way to go as of right now._** Agreed. **I was startled that they could communicate so fluently within their minds, for their age, they were both exceptionally powerful, for any age, actually, and I suspected that the homicide plan that was in the works wouldn't fail if it were to be executed.

"I can do it tonight. You should know, however, that we technically aren't supposed to be here, we kind of snuck out of the castle to get here." I nodded, completely unsurprised by that fact. I would have to Floo Dumbledore to let him know, as he was part of the Wizengamot.

"Very well, I'm sure the Headmaster won't be terribly upset due to the circumstances, I will inform him." I stood to make the call, "Oh, and Sirius? Due to the sensitive nature of the trial, I will make sure you can be in the chamber during the hearing." They looked at each other disbelievingly. I left and made the Floo call,

"Albus? You're going to want to come here immediately…"

MELANIE POV

I was 100%, absolutely petrified. Tonight would dictate the rest of my life, and how it plays out will impact not just me, but Sirius and my parents as well. Not to mention Katie, who will be more than likely placed in the custody of the Black Family, if an arrest should occur.

Arrest. The word pounded in my head, it bounced around and ran into the sides of my brain. I was petrified, but I was also resolved to show the Wizengamot everything, every slap, every curse, _everything_. I was also going to show them why I had tried to Emancipate myself not a month before I was to turn 17. It made more sense for Sirius; his birthday wasn't for another 6 months, being in May. I was going to show them everything except Reg. I refused to show them that he was a Death Eater. As much as I hated Voldy, I didn't want to see Reg in Azkaban for the rest of his life, just because of a stupid tattoo. Jane came back in, with Dumbledore, who acted like it was everyday business to find two of his students in the Ministry of Magic when they were explicitly told that they couldn't leave school grounds. No matter what. Just another day in the life of Albus Dumbledore, I guess. The four of us decided what was to be seen by the Wizengamot.

It was mainly Sirius and I that made most of the decisions, the first hand witnesses. We omitted the bit about Walburga Black putting me in St. Mungo's, as it had nothing to do with my parents. Walburga and Orion Black were almost completely omitted from what they were going to see. The memories were put into a penseive, which was going to have a spell cast on it, almost like a Muggle projector.

It took long hours, and I was already beginning to feel the fatigue pulling at me. Begging me to let my body fall over and fall to the darkness of unconsciousness.

5 minutes before the beginning of the hearing, Sirius and I walked into the Ministry courtrooms, and I took a seat in the middle of the room, in a suspicious chair with chains on it, which rattled of their own accord when I sat down, but other then that, remained limp on the floor. The Wizengamot filed in and the Minister called the court to order.

My hearing had begun.

**The next update will be coming tomorrow, so you'll just have to wait a full 24 hours to know what happens next.**

**Here's a sneak peek...  
**

**_"Are they going to jail yet?" She laughed lightly back to him,_**

**_"Not quite, but Padfoot _is_ planning murder if they get off. Isn't that right Sirius?" I nod,_**

**_"That's right Mellie. Muggle means would definitely have the most poetic justice about it, don't you think?"_**

***Gasp* So, who are they talking to? And I bet you can guess whose murder(s) is/are in the works. Read on and find out. Well, read and find out tomorrow.**


	23. The Emancipation Proclamation

**Disclaimer: You know the drill.**

**Hi! So this is an extrmemly long chapter, for me at least. I type this in Microsoft word and its about 9 and a half pages, single spaced, so I was really excited about that.  
**

**YOU GUYS SHOULD KNOW THAT THE STUFF IN ITALICS MAKES REFERENCES AND DESCRIBES PRETTY BAD CHILD ABUSE, AND IF UOU DON'T LIKE THAT, JUST SKIP IT. This is 'M' for a reason, not really for safety, but because it actually needs it. :) I put it in all caps so everyone will read it.  
**

**Oh, and for those of you who are outside of the US, and more specifically in Eurasia, and might not know what the Emancipation Proclamation is, so it was when Lincoln freed the slaves back in our Civil War. Just so you know there was a reason I picked it. :)  
**

**This is one of my favorites and I'm really proud of the way it turned out, so I hope you guys enjoy it, and review and all that jazz.  
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**See you guys tomorrow,  
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**Stars.  
**

SIRIUS POV

I sat in the stands, separate from the Wizengamot, next to Jane. The Minister spoke,

"We are hear today to hear the formally contended request for the Emancipation of Melanie Jasmine Malfoy-Taylor." **That's the first thing I'm changing: my last name. Drop the stupid hyphen and just use Taylor. **_ Shh. _"The charges laid out in the request are inclusive, but not exclusively, child-abuse and the attempt at the illegal Wizard's Bond. The requestor, is that the right words Bones?" Jane nodded from beside me, a smirk on her mouth, _**what an idiot. **_ We both thought together, "Yes, well the requestor has brought evidence of the charges, correct, Miss. Malfoy-Taylor?" She nodded,

"Just Melanie, please, Minister, I dislike my last name." He nodded and everybody in the crowd murmured. I knew what was happening: They were starting to like her, it was impossible not to. So down-to-earth and humble, she was very likeable, especially compared to her asshole parents, who I assumed would be making an appearance here soon.

"Very well, Melanie, but you have brought evidence, correct?"

"I have, Minister." Jane prodded me with her elbow and I stood, picking up the penseive next to me, careful not to spill any of its contents. Every eye in the room turned to me and I carefully walked down the stairs in the stands to the floor, next to Mel. Jane came forward and murmured the appropriate spell, which would make it act like a Muggle projector, in the opposite wall, where everyone, including Melanie, who would be sitting next to me during the showing of the evidence, would be able to see. Jane spoke clearly to the Wizengamot,

"Be warned, if you have a weak stomach, you may lose your dinner." I took Mel's hand gently and led her over to where I had been sitting previously. Then it began.

"_Mellie? What's it like? Hogwarts, what's it like?" The young, 12 year old Melanie smiled at her younger sister,_

"_Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. I've made so many good friends Katie."_

"_What are their names?"_

"_Hm, well, you know Sirius and Cissy, and there's Remus Lupin, Marlene McKinnon, James Potter, Alice Prewett, Peter Pettigrew, and Lily Evans. They're so wonderful, Katie. It's perfect. It's home." Just then the girls' parents come in as Katie says,_

"_You've made friends with Mudbloods?" Jasmine screams,_

"_You WHAT? How dare you? You've made friend with those FILTHY things? How could you do that to our family, you ungrateful little bitch?!" Her hand came out of nowhere and hit her daughter across the face, leaving her in tears, holding her cheek._

The scene changed to a very familiar one, one that had been in my drams recently…

_A young girl, dressed in the finery of her people was walking through her house, early in the morning, glorying in the money and power that her Mommy and Daddy had, when she heard the moaning. It was definitely a boy, she thought, not a girl, like her. The natural curiosity of an eight-year-mind made her follow the sound until she got to the Wine Cellar. The sound was coming from inside the locked door._

_The girl, who had a startling amount of control over her magic, pressed a small palm to the doorknob and whispered,_

"_Open." She heard the door unlock and she pushed it open before she could talk her self out of it. _There was some murmuring at this, it was highly unusual to find a child who could control her magic so well, it was almost never heard of, and when it is, the claims are usually false.

_Her Daddy was there, as was Mr. Greyback, whom she'd never really liked, he always smiled like he was going to hurt something, and in this child' mind, there was no more heinous crime, than intentionally inflicting pain onto another person or animal, despite what her parents thought. There was also a little boy, who was lying in front of the two men, who was curled up in a ball. This was the source of the sound. He was crying and trying to stop the blood that was flowing from large wounds on his face, from running into his sandy hair._

"_What are you doing?!" She screamed at them, both men jumped and looked up, startled to see someone so young in the doorway. Andrew smiled at his daughter,_

"_Sweetie, this boy's a werewolf. Do remember our lesson on werewolves?" The little girl nodded, eager to please her Daddy, who, it was obvious, she loved very much,_

"_They're evil creatures, half-human, and need to be killed." The man smiled at his daughter, happy that she remembered. She looked at the boy, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see anything but a boy they were letting die, "Wha-what happened to him? Why's he bleeding?"_

"_Miss. Malfoy, you have to realize that this boy's father was not a very good friend to me or your Daddy and he tried to hurt us." The girl gasped, finally understanding,_

"_You did this? You did this to him?"_

"_Melanie—" BAM. The little girl's magic exploded, blasting her father and Fenrir Greyback into the walls, knocking them unconscious. _People were loudly whispering to each other things like, "Did you see that?" "Knocked them out cold!" And I'm pretty sure I heard a "Serves them right." From the Minister. _The boy looked up at her,_

"_Pl—please don't hurt me." She ran over to him,_

"_I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you get back to your Mommy and Daddy, okay?" He nodded and she placed a hand over his face and murmured,_

"_Heal, please." And, despite her age and hugely draining blast of energy, she made the cuts heal up, or at least begin to scab over. _People gasped, completely shocked she could do things that Third Years and Fourth Years at Hogwarts didn't have to know-how to do, _She helped him up and together they walked, watching for anybody, human or house elf alike, to the drawing room, where she helped the boy into the fireplace and handed him Floo powder,_

"_You need to go to St. Mungo's, they can call your parents. What's your name?"_

"_Re—"_

"_You need to leave, now! Go!"_

"_St. Mungo's Lobby!" And the boy was gone in a flash of green flames, just as her parents came in,_

"_Where is he? Where's the boy?" The girl set her chin defiantly, _

"_Gone. I sent him home."_

"_You what? You insolent, little girl. How dare you? Crucio!" And Melanie Jasmine Malfoy-Taylor's world fell to fire and pain again, just like every other day in this Hell she calls home._

_The next day, when she woke up, in the Wine Cellar, ironically enough, she heard her parents screaming upstairs. Her mother came down, looking like she was going to crucify her eldest daughter,_

"_Because of you and your stupid behavior, the contract is broken! You cost us a bonding with the Black family, you little brat! Walburga heard and called it off immediately, she said she didn't want a possible Gryffindor like you tainting the ways her heir thinks!" Her mother's hand cracked against her face, leaving tears in her eyes. She was left in the Wine Cellar with nothing to eat or drink for four days._

I heard people murmuring, horrified. The Cruciatus was horrible, but to turn it on not just a child, but _your own_ child, was the most repulsive, most disgusting thing a person could do, a violation of nature itself. The scene changed again, and this time I was present…

_There were eight people at a dinner table, Andrew and Jasmine Taylor, Walburga and Orion Black and their children. Melanie was seated between Regulus and Sirius and she and a 12-year-old Sirius were telling Regulus about how amazing Gryffindor was when her father growled,_

"_Say another thing about that house, and I'll hex your eyes out, you insolent little girl. You are a disgrace to us, at least act ashamed of it." Jasmine spoke up,_

"_Andrew, if you're going to hex a part of her, make sure you can hide it under a dress, no one wants to marry a girl with no eyes." Walburga smiled wickedly, appraising the girl sitting across the table from her like she was a piece of meat,_

"_Yes, goodness knows we don't want her to marry my Regulus if she doesn't have eyes." Melanie spoke up,_

"_I don't want to marry Reggie." Her mother intervened,_

"_You will marry him, and you will have children when you're old enough." She looked down, scared,_

"_Yes, Mother."_

They were at Nocte, now, the dress she was wearing said it was after Fourth Year and I was there too…

_Sirius and Melanie were listening through a door…_

"_Yes, but Andrew, Sirius has almost completely defected and Regulus will more than likely be our heir, will she try to force her Gryffindor views on him?"_

"_Orion, what she needs is to have a husband that won't let her get away with that."_

"_Regulus will treat her well, too well almost. Will he control her in the bonding, or will she crush him?" Walburga Black was easily identifiable, even through a door._

"_He will crush her will, I am certain of it, Orion. I have never seen a woman that didn't succumb to the bond and the effects it has on them." A woman said._

"_Very well, we will begin the writing tomorrow, but tonight is a night of dance and luxury, shall we go?" Melanie and Sirius ran off, just as the door opened to reveal both sets of their parents._

I remembered that, quite clearly and I thought it was the end, but again, the scene changed, this time to something I had no knowledge of being in the evidence. Mellie took my hand and squeezed** I decided to put it in there. They need to see everything**…

"_You're a monster!" A fifteen-year-old Melanie screamed at her father, who threw a vase at her as she ran out of his study, and out of the house to the nearest park, she sat down and leaned up against a tree, out of view from most people. She pulled out a mirror and whispered, "Sirius." Soon, the said boy's face appeared on the face of the mirror, looking rather panicked_

"_Mellie? Are you okay? What's wrong?" She was crying quite heavily, but managed to choke out,_

"_They finally did it, they threatened me."_

"_Don't they always?" A new set of tears overcame her for a moment,_

"_No, this time, they threatened me…with you. They said that if I didn't take the mark, I'd watch as they killed you." _Everyone in the room gasped at that and most eyes turned to us._ Sirius controlled his expression extraordinarily well, from a lifetime of experience, he rolled his eyes at her through the mirror, obviously not believing what he was saying,_

"_Well, that's just ridiculous, isn't it? In a week, we'll be off to the Potter's. It's just a week, Mellie we can survive another week."_

"_Sirius?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Do you remember that time when you asked me when I stopped checking under my bed for monsters?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_I just realized when."_

"_Oh?"_

"_When I finally figured out that the monsters were inside us. We have nothing to fear from half-beings and creatures of the night, our biggest enemy, and our greatest fear should be people, and the evil hidden inside of them." The boy sighed,_

"_We'll talk more at the Potter's okay, Mel, I need to go."_

"_Okay, tell Reg I say 'hi'."_

"_Will do." And the mirror again looked like any other mirror. The girl put her head in her hands and began to sob, for once in her life, not caring who or what saw her finally giving in to insanity, even if it was just for a moment._

That was the last one, and the torches, which had dimmed down for the evidence viewing, now flared back up on their own, throwing all the horrified, slightly sick, looks into the relief of light. They all looked at her, and most of the women in the Wizengamot had tears in their eyes and their hands over their hearts. The Minister's face was green and Jane looked like she was ready to drag Mel's parents in here just so she could murder them as publically (and brutally) as humanly possible.

Even Dumbledore had tears running into his long, silver beard, but gave a supporting smile to Melanie, through them. I personally was going to have to use all of my self-control not to attack them when they came in, and would have to content myself that if everything goes to plan, they'll be spending the rest of their lives in Azkaban, having their sanity sucked away by Dementors. The Minister cleared his throat,

"Well, Melanie, if you'd take your seat again, and Mr. Black, please come collect the Penseive." I held her hand as we both walked down and hugged her tightly before I stuck her memories back in her head for safekeeping. I took the now empty penseive with me back up next to Jane. "Is there anyone you'd like to call to testify?" the Minister questioned. She paused for a moment,

"I fear my parents will dispute my memories and say I am insane, so may I call someone, a dear friend now, from one of the memories in case they do?" The Minister nodded,

"Of course you may, dear."

"Remus Lupin."

"The Werewolf that attends Hogwarts with you two?"

"He was the boy in the second one."

"Half-breeds are not allowed to be heard in wizard court." She looked hesitatingly at him,

"I know. It's just that, except for my parents and I, it was only him and Fenrir Greyback that saw what happened." Her voice broke with fear that wasn't faked or exaggerated,

"I suppose an exception could be made. All in favor?" Every hand went up, "Very well, give his information to the scribe."

"Sirius, can you give it to him?" I nodded, and got up to meet the scribe, who I gave Moony's address to. After I had taken my seat again, they resumed,

"Anyone else?"

"Sirius Black." My head snapped up, and I nodded my consent, that I would, in fact, testify, if need be.

"Anyone more?"

"No, Minister."

"Very well, if the need arise, we will call them to testify, if not, they will have no need to testify." She nodded and I realized that no matter what they did, Andrew and Jasmine were losing custody today. They were likely going to Azkaban, also. Melanie had this whole room wrapped around her little finger.

"We, the Wizengamot, call the contenders, Andrew and Jasmine Taylor to the chamber." The doors were pushed open to reveal her parents and she visibly winced at their presence. The Minister noticed,

"Melanie, you can go sit with Madam Bones and Mr. Black, if you feel better that way." She nodded and stood to hurry towards us. She sat between us, and Jane hugged her tightly and I held her shaking hand, trying to get her to steady a little. The chair she had been sitting in doubled, and there were now two of them, one for each of them. They both sat hesitatingly in the chairs, and the chains did leap to life this time, wrapping themselves around their wrists and ankles.

"Andrew and Jasmine Taylor, you have been called here to dispute your daughter's claim of child-abuse and an attempted Wizarding Bond. She has presented her evidence, do you have yours?"

"Yes, Minister." Andrew answered.

"Very well, proceed." Andrew spoke,

"Witches and Wizards, look at this girl, our daughter, and what do you see? She may have painted herself a victim, an abused child, but she isn't. She's insane. Mentally unstable, if you will." Mel's grip on my hand tightened and I winced, but said nothing.

"She has been coerced and bribed into doing this by Sirius Black." Her mother added. Everyone looked at me, and I looked at the two people trying to effectively get me imprisoned, trying not to jump onto the floor and beat them both until they died. "Yes, young Mr. Black. Young, broken, wild and uncontrolled Mr. Black. He has tempted our poor, beloved child into doing these things against her family, and he, not us, should pay for these crimes. We just want our daughter back." My mouth fell open. They were blaming it on me. _Me_.

"What do you say to the accusations of the Wizard's Bond?"

"They too are false, she may have told you of a snippet of conversation she heard once, but have you seen the supposedly almost complete contract, if there even is one. No? I thought not, because there isn't one." Just then, an explosion of silver light filled the room, and a large lion Patronus appeared in front of the Minister. It vanished and in its place, was a piece of parchment. The Minister picked it up and gasped,

"It's the contract." Jasmine spoke,

"They did it! They made it and summoned the Patronus!" Everyone looked at us and Mel calmly answered her mother,

"Both of our Patronuses are dogs."

"Prove it." Andrew hissed, we both stood and pulled out our wands and said together,

"Expecto Patronum." A large shaggy dog burst from both of our wands and they began to wrestle playfully on the floor in front of us then began to chase each other around the courtroom, the Wizengamot watched on with smiles on their faces. They vanished once we let go of the spell and we both sat back down, still holding hands. The Minister spoke then, confused,

"Who was it then?" No one knew. No one could figure out whom the Patronus belonged to. Mellie and I considered it being Marley, but her Animagus for was a lioness, there wasn't a mane on hers and there had most definitely been a mane on the one who had delivered the Patronus. No one knew who it could be that had access to the contract and had a lion Patronus.

Just then Remus came in and we both cried out,

"Moony!" Melanie rose and went over to him and hugged him tightly, and I heard him whisper to her,

"Are they going to jail yet?" She laughed lightly back,

"Not quite, but Padfoot _is_ planning murder if they get off. Isn't that right Sirius?" She asked me as they came over to sit down next to Jane and me. I nodded,

"That's right Mellie. Muggle means would definitely have the most poetic justice about it, don't you think?" They both agreed and we all noticed that everyone, including Jasmine and Andrew were watching. Most were amused, but her parents looked horrified at their daughter consorting with a werewolf. Or maybe it was because they were hearing their murders being planned, but it was probably the werewolf thing. They were indignant.

"He's a half-breed! A werewolf! He can't testify in Wizarding hearings." Melanie growled next to me, much too canine like for my liking in the current situation.

Her eyes were starting to change from her usual eyes to blue eyes with pupils like vertical slits. They shifted back and forth so fast that you could hardly see them do it, unless you knew what to look for, that was the warning signal her body gave off when she was getting ready to lose control of her animal side, the shifting started to slow down and rest on the animal eyes longer, and longer, which was very, very, bad, once they stayed that way, she would shift, willingly or not. _Calm down Mellie, not here._ She nodded just as the Minister was answering her parents. And her eyes settled back to human eyes.

"We moved to make an exception on the grounds that part of her evidence was only witnessed by the three of you, Fenrir Greyback and Remus Lupin. She asked for him to be called, so he was." They both grumbled but said nothing more.

"Are there any other witnesses our daughter has called on?" asked Andrew tightly,

"Yes. He's over there." He motioned to me.

"Ah, young Mr. Black. Here to corrupt our daughter even more?" I had finally had enough and before I even knew what I was doing I was standing on the floor all of 5 feet away from Mel's father, ready to disembowel him violently, with her standing between us with a hand on my chest.

I don't even know how she got there so fast. She must have known I was going to move before I did.

"Don't Sirius. They can take you away. They can ruin your life. Don't throw everything away because of them. They're not worth all of this trouble." I tore my gaze away from her father long enough to look at her, pleading with me to back down.

I gave into her very human blue eyes and sighed and let my shoulders sag, which she correctly took as signs of defeat and led me back to where we had been seated previously with Remus, who had been behind me in case I tried to push my through Mel. He realized he didn't have to intervene and followed us back to where we were seated next to Jane.

"See! He's unstable! Unstable I say!" Melanie's patience was finally gone and she looked to the Minister,

"Are you ever going to decide something, or do I just have to listen to my parents throw abuse at my best friends all night?" She snapped rather loudly. The Minister looked surprised at how randomly she had finally lost her cool, but I wasn't. She had had 16, almost 17, years of this and had come to the end of her rope. It was about damn time.

"Erm, all in favor of moving to question?" All hands went up, "Okay, all in favor of Melanie Taylor's emancipation?" All of the hands went up again, and I felt her sag against me in relief and Remus hugged her tightly and whispered "congrats" in her ear. "Passed. Congratulations, Melanie, may you make good choices on your own from now on. All in favor of conviction of the accused?" Half and half went up, and after a formal count, it was discovered that it was exactly half and half. The Wizengamot was in a deadlock.

Dumbledore convinced the Minister to let Mel and I go out to dinner in London to celebrate. Remus would be sent home immediately to avoid his parents being aware of the fact he left the house at all and we would return to the castle after dinner. We would find out in the mail whether or not her parents, who would be kept in holding until it was decided, would be going to Azkaban.

Dumbledore escorted us out of the courtroom, and gave us a hairbrush.

"It will take you to Hogwarts in a minute. After you have changed, go to Minerva's office and she will Floo you to where ever you want to go. Mr. Lupin, please come with me, let's get you home." Moony hugged us good-bye and he and Dumbledore disapparated with a crack. The portkey began to glow and we were sucked back to Hogwarts.

When we reached Dumbledore's office, I looked at Mel. She couldn't stop smiling.

We were free.

**BAM. She's free. Celebration dinner to come next. Hehe here's what coming...**

_**"Goose liver."**_

**Hmmm...what could that mean? You'll have to wait until tomorrow. hehehehehe. (that's my evil laugh. Do you like it?)  
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	24. The Dinner

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**So, hi. I just want to say, that from here on out, there probably won't be updates on weekends, because I take that time to write, and post chapters right before I leave for school during the week, which if anyone cares, that's 6:30 am Eastern Standard time. Today's an exception, lucky you. :P  
**

**I really like this chapter, because you poor readers have had to drag yourselves through three or four really heavy chapters, and this one is so completely happy and lighthearted, that I was smiling a lot while writing it. My mother thought that there was something wrong with me.  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars  
**

**P.S. The Skeeter makes an appearance. Like a creep.  
**

MELANIE POV

I walked through Hogwarts in a daze. I was completely free. I didn't have to live in fear of marriage under duress, crazy parents, or lunatic sisters ever again. When we reached Gryffindor Tower, Sirius said,

"Wear a cocktail dress." And went up to his dorm, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. I went up the stairs to my dorm and it finally hit me. I was free. I laughed to myself as I rummaged around my trunk for a dress.

I found a strapless, rather tight, black dress that only hit me at the top of my thighs. Minnie was going to have a fit. I then was on a mission for a strapless bra, which took me longer to find than the dress had. I pulled my hair down and straightened it out of its slight curliness from my ponytail. I let my side bangs hang down in my eyes and put on heavy make-up. I put on even higher platform heels, probably 7 or 8 inches that were a bright orange. I put my wand in a purse and also some Muggle and Wizard money alike, as I had no idea where we were going.

I walked down the stairs to see Sirius in a pair of nice jeans and a black button down shirt. He grinned at me,

"You clean up well." I laughed at him,

"You see me in dresses all the time."

"Yeah, but those are ball gowns. This is nice. I appreciate the view." He eyed my chest and I chuckled and hit him over the head,

"Ha, so flattering. You really know how to make a girl feel special. No wonder all of your relationships last only like a week. Oh, and you don't clean up to bad yourself." He winked at me and we began to make our way to Minnie's office, just slowly walking, talking and laughing about just about anything, holding hands, in a totally non-dating way, both glad to be alive.

All of a sudden, none other than Rita Skeeter came out of the shadows. I jumped and so did Sirius, both of us taken off guard.

"And what are you two doing up so late?" I snorted,

"Could ask you the same thing."

"I'm coming back from detention. Where are you going?"

"Minnie's office, if you must know."

"Dressed like that?" I opened my mouth to respond but Sirius intervened,

"Yeah, Dumbledore and Minnie gave us permission to go out to dinner tonight." She flushed and clearly didn't believe him,

"Oh, well, I'll walk you guys there." We had no choice but to let her follow, and when we did walk to Minnie's office, she seemed rather disappointed. Sirius knocked on the door and Minnie opened it quickly. She eyed my dress,

"It's good to see both of you, I just wish I wasn't seeing so much of you Miss. Taylor." I shrugged and walked in anyways, "Miss. Skeeter, what are you doing here?" Rita looked humiliated and a little panicked.

"Oh, er, I'll just be going, then." She quickly walked off, leaving us alone with Minnie. We both stepped into the Floo and Sirius called out a street address that I'd never heard before. We stepped out of a house fireplace that made no sense. I looked at him and he pressed a finger to his lips and we walked out of the house.

"What was that?"

"The closest house to our destination."

"We just Flooed to a random person's house?"

"Yup." He popped the p on the end and led me to some suspiciously high-class looking restaurant.

"Ooooh. Fancy." He grinned and poked me in the arm, but said nothing except,

"It's the kind of place that figures if you're rich enough to buy their overpriced food, you're also rich enough to not get carded." I rolled my eyes, but let him lead me in anyways. The hostess asked for a name and he smirked, "Malfoy-Taylor." That dick. I whacked him over my head and he laughed.

"I hate you." I whispered as the nice lady led us to a high table near the bar, full of go-go dancers. He laughed at me and whispered back,

"No you don't." I sighed dramatically,

"You're right, unfortunately, I _don't_ hate you." I sing-songed back to him just as she stopped at our table. We thanked her and waited for our sever whose name was supposedly Jared. I easily looked at the menu…

"Decisions, decisions."

"I know."

"I'm still mad at you for putting the reservation under that stupid name." He laughed and threw his menu on the table,

"Yeah, well I live to piss you off. It's just too much fun." I rolled my eyes and silently agreed.

"Wait, why did you have a reservation in the first place? Did you and Dumbles develop a conspiracy against me? I feel insulted." He chuckled at my face.

"No, well, kind of. Last night when you somehow convinced me to go to the Ministry with you, I made the reservation because I figured we could both use a couple of drinks after the whole ordeal, and it turns out I was right. I just kindly asked Dumbles, we really need to stop calling him that by the way, if we could just leave right after the hearing, and he said yes."

"We're never going to stop calling him Dumbles." We grinned at each other.

"It's only a matter of time before we call him that to his face on accident." I laughed,

"We're not going to stop."

"Never." We both laughed as the server (whose name was actually Jared) came up and asked what we wanted.** Do you know? **_Nope._ **Make something up. Fast. **

"Er, we'll have the foie gras. Oh, and…Mel what do you want to drink?"

"A red?"

"Yeah, a bottle of red." The server said nothing about two obviously underage kids buying a bottle of red wine, and took the order back to the kitchen.

"Mel?"

"Yeah?"

"What's foie gras?"

"I have no idea Sirius, and I fear you're going to giving me food poisoning." The guy came back with the wine and poured two glasses, leaving the bottle.

"Thanks." I smiled at him and he smiled back. Sirius rolled his eyes,

"Good God, Mellie, now I'm going to have to worry about him following us all night."

"And why's that?" I asked, genuinely curious. He looked at me,

"You really don't see it, do you?" I stared at him,

"See what?" He smirked and shook his head slightly,

"That's what I thought." He refused to say anymore on the topic.

Finally, our mysterious food came and I was still trying to figure out what it was exactly that Sirius had ordered." I was thinking it over as the guy brought the check and I had yet to eat it. I remembered the Lily had gone to France between Third and Fourth Year. Then the answer slapped me in the face.

"_Ugh, I had such weird stuff while I was there, Mel. I even had goose liver. Liver! If someone ever offers you foie gras, say no."_

"Sirius!" He looked up, alarmed,

"What?"

"Goose liver."

"Huh?"

"The food. It's goose liver." He spit out what was in his mouth and chugged his glass of wine.

"Let's pay and leave before we find out the wine is actually the urine of Pagan monks."

"You're disgusting, but yeah, sounds like a plan." He insisted on paying and I let him, knowing a lost battle when I saw one.

We left, and walked down the street in downtown London, and for a beautiful moment, we weren't kids of the most powerful people of our world, we weren't anything. Right now, if anyone saw us, they wouldn't look for long, they might notice that they boy was exceptionally good-looking, but no one would guess that we carried wands with us. No one knows our secrets or our names. We were just 'those kids over there'. Sirius offered me his arm and I gratefully took it, glad that we wouldn't get separated in the crowds. We were nothing but a couple of kids who probably looked like we were on a date, and I found that I was perfectly fine with that.

**Oh, snap. I love the ending to this one. :) Part two of the night-out up next. No update until Monday, but I'll give you a line or two..**

_**"And what about him, can he do anything worthwhile?" I smirked,**_

_**"Don't you dare, Melanie!"**_

**_"Piano."_  
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**And who plays piano? And where are they? Hmm, we learn something new about our favorite people next time. ;)_  
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	25. Author's Note aka Not A Chapter

**Hi! So, sadly, this is not a chapter, but more of a notice. I put up a one-shot from when Melanie, Sirius, Cissy, and Regulus were kids, and yeah, check it out. **

**Update is coming on Monday, I promise, 6:30 am Standard Eastern Time there WILL be a new chapter. I will make it so.**

**Oh, and the on-shot is called 'The Bestest Friends' on my profile, so YAY FanFiction!**

**Stars.**


	26. The Old Man in the Music Store

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I'm not JKR**

**So, this is the dinner, celebrating thing part two! Yay! Okay, so musical instruments aren't mentioned very much up until this point in time, because this is pretty much an entire chapter dedicated to musical abilities. Okay, it's kind of random, but we haven't seen much of the good that came with Melanie and Sirius' childhoods. There is some, I promise.  
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**I want to thank everybody for the amazing response I've gotten on this, I can't believe so many people happen to love this thing that's my brain child in a strange way. Yeah, anyways, I update only on weekdays, and write 6 to 7 thousand words a weekend, so don't be too upset.**

**I'm about 11,000 word ahead of this point in the story, and I have to tell you, it's not canon at all. Like at all. So, get ready for the uncanonness (not a word).  
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**Read, review, and enjoy,  
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**Stars.  
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I saw a music store to my left,

"Can we go in?" He looked up,

"Where?" I pointed,

"Oh, yeah sure. Is there a particular reason?"

"Not really." I dropped his arm and grabbed his hand, leading him in. When I entered, I inhaled the scent of polished wood and old sheet music deeply.

"How can I help you two?" An old man asked us, and Sirius came up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist, "I'm assuming neither of you two play?" I shook my head no,

"I play, actually." He seemed intrigued,

"What do you play?"

"Piano and violin."

"She sings too."

"Shut up, Sirius." He laughed and ruffled my hair, which I quickly fixed and scowled at him. The man looked at me amusedly,

"And what about him, can he do anything worthwhile?" I smirked,

"Don't you dare, Melanie!"

"Piano." He groaned and the man seemed intrigued, he picked up a violin and handed it to me, extremely careful with it.

"Do you know what this is?" I looked at it closely and tried to get a look at the label inside the body of the instrument. I could faintly make out a year, but no maker,

"A violin from 1713?"

"Yes, but do you know who the maker is?"

"I couldn't see a name, so no." He handed me a bow and placed a piece of music in front of me on a stand. I recognized a Tchaikovsky piece,

"Serenade, III. Élégie?" I asked and he nodded, approvingly,

"Play it and try to guess who made it." I took a deep breath and I began to play the piece that I had learned when I was twelve. I gasped lightly as I realized that the tone was unrivaled. This was a master's instrument, I had never heard such a sound in all my life, which is saying something considering I had been surrounded by the best musical instruments money could buy since I was born.

But this, this was something that was passed down, family member to family member, it was a family secret, and I suspected this man hardly ever let anyone see this violin, let alone play it. I hadn't been kidding when I said it was a master's instrument. I stopped playing and I looked at him, eyes big, and I whispered the word I had been dying to say ever since I started to play, the one thing money hadn't been able to buy me,

"Stradivarius." He smiled and nodded,

"Yes, it was a gift from Antonio to my family, many centuries ago. It is my most prized possession, but I have not heard it played like that in a very long time. You are a player fit for it, unlike most people in the world. I saw your face when you heard it. It was the magic that music can cast. You are a powerful player, given the right piece, you could move a room of people to tears, I dare say." I handed it back to him, carefully, with a new reverence for it. He took it and smiled,

"Alas, I am old and my family is gone. I have no children and no relatives, it is just me, alone in this shop, trying to find someone worthy of the gift I wish to give the right person. One moment." He took the violin and vanished into a back room. When he did Sirius turned to look me straight on,

"I had no idea you could play like that. Andrew and Jasmine did one thing right." I laughed,

"They didn't. I begged them as a little girl to take lessons, and they complied. The piano: that was them, though. I don't have the love for the piano, but it's still beautiful." Just then the old man came back out with a leather folder and an old, battered violin case.

"I told you I am old, and I know my time is coming to a close very, very soon, and I can rest easy, now knowing that this will be in gentle and caring hands from now on, if you'll take it." He offered me the case and I took it, not fully understanding he smiled, "Open it." I did and gasped. It was the violin,

"I can't."

"I really wish you would, or it will be put up for auction to the highest bidder, once I'm gone. It should be played, not put on display in a museum or given to some little kid that doesn't have an appreciation for its history. You play it as it was intended. One day, when you have kids, and if you teach them to play, give it to them when they're old enough. It's a instrument that belongs to family, and now it's changing families." I closed the case.

"I can't thank you enough. You've given me something most people never get to see in their entire lives. I will take care of it and treat it gently. You are a great man." He handed me the folder too.

"This is the music that has been collected over the ages with it. They are originals. Take care of them as you do the violin. Oh, and there's some piano in there for your friend over there." We both looked up at Sirius who was inspecting a drum set. He looked at us, confused, and we laughed at him.

"Thank you. You will never be forgotten, and as long as the violin is passed down in my family, so will the story of your generosity and kindness." I hugged him and thanked him again, profusely. We left the store, and again, Sirius offered his arm to me, and I gratefully took it, again.

"How are we going to get back to the castle?" I asked him over the noise of the crowd.

"Knight Bus!" He called back and we hung a right into a deserted alley. Sirius pulled out his wand and flagged the bus, and it came flying at us. It stopped just a foot or two away and we walked on,

"Where you two headed?"

"Hogwarts." I answered the conductor.

"That's 2 sickles and 14 knuts." I handed him the money over a protesting Sirius,

"Shut up Sirius. I'm in a generous mood. Besides, you bought me duck liver I didn't eat."

"I thought it was goose."

"Does it matter?"

"Touché."

10 minutes later we were stumbling off the bus at the Hogwarts gates, slightly woozy and Sirius holding the violin and music in one hand and about 5 minutes into our walk, I tried to take my shoes off, but according to Sirius,

"Ugh, gross Mel, do you know what shit's on this ground?" I glared at him, both of us coming to a standstill,

"What do you propose I do then, oh-great-genius?" He smirked, "What are you—AGHH Sirius Orion Black, PUT ME DOWN!" I was now in a fireman's lift, and I'm pretty sure my lady parts were hanging out for the whole world to see, thanks to my dress. He laughed and slapped my butt and I screamed at him again, wordlessly, he just jokingly responded,

"The more you scream, the funnier it gets. Just a thought." I punched him in one of his kidneys to the best of my ability from my awkward position and heard him groan in pain.

"If Minnie sees up my dress, I'm going to publically humiliate you every day for the next month." I snarled to him. I realized how loud I was, even squished up against his back. He chuckled and said,

"Oh, hey Rita." I froze and kicked him in the stomach with the heels still on my feet to get him to put me down. It worked and he dropped me, giving me the violin case, well, tried to,

"Oh, no, Black, don't give me that. I'll forget what's in it and try to beat her with it." He chuckled but held onto it, regardless. Rita looked irritated, well, with me. It was physically impossible for her to irritated with her 'Siri-poo'. _I hate you. _**Lies. **_No, not really. _**I'm sure. Cough, Heart Break Syndrome, cough.**_ You win this round._ **Mhm. **

"So, what are you two doing?" She asked fake innocent, really. What did she expect us to say? 'Oh, hey Rita, girl neither one of us likes, we were just off having lots of drunken sex, and can't forget the drunk part of that, girlfriend' on what planet? Other than the fact we hadn't been doing anything illicit, I was really tempted to tell her just that, then I thought about the kind of article that would be run in the school newspaper, and held my tongue and my witty remarks back. Sirius answered her, gathering I was going to say nothing,

"Well, Mellie went to court today over her parents' custody rights and she won, so we went out to celebrate."

"Custody rights? What did she do, say 'I hate my Mommy and Daddy, they won't get me another pony'?" I smiled at her, faking friendliness, and wordlessly pulled my dress up to reveal my stomach, without the concealment charms.

"If you must know, Rita, this is why I left. Don't judge a book by its cover." She looked unconvinced,

"So, you could have fallen off a broom, into a bush, that would make those." I rolled my eyes,

"Whatever, think what you like, oh, and I don't have a pony," _Mel…be careful with what you say to her. _"My parents just tried to marry me to a Death Eater." Without another word, I left her standing there, Sirius right behind me, rather shocked by my outburst.

_What was that? _I shrugged in answer, even though was fairly certain that he couldn't see it because he was still behind me. I grabbed the violin case from him, and with a grin, bolted to the Gryffindor Common Room, dying to play a romantic piece on the Strad.

SIRIUS POV

I knew that Melanie kind of knew the violin, but I had no idea how much she adored it. When the old man handed her that violin I expected her to play one of the more complicated Tchaikovsky piece passably, I wasn't expected what had happened.

She apparently already knew it, and she adored the sound of it, apparently. It was beautiful, so gut-wrenchingly beautiful that it made me look up from the thing called a 'drum-set' to stare. I noticed something I don't think she did: she hums along with the music as she plays it.

He was right. It was how the violin was meant to be played. She drew everything from inside of her and threw it out into the music, completely being carried away.

It reminded me of how Reg used to play cello. They did what I never could. I could never fully give myself into an instrument, or to a piece of music.

For them, it was their safe haven, because in Mel's world, nothing bad can happen when she plays, in Regulus' world, he's just a cellist when he plays, not a Death Eater to be, then, or a son of lunatics, just him. It was so simply wonderful, but I could never do it with piano. I always let my mind wander and ended up thinking about completely ridiculous things.

They were beautiful players, and I've only heard them play together once, even though I know it's happened more than that, but it's an extremely personal experience for them. I had asked Mel about it once and she had distantly answered,

"It's like, when you play with someone, and it's something you both love, and in that moment if it embodies both of you, somehow, your souls almost become one. Not completely, but close. So close that I've never felt so connected to someone than when I play with Reg." That was before the link, obviously.

So, when she grabbed the violin and ran off, I wasn't surprised in the least. I walked easily to the Common Room, trailing far behind her, knowing that was where she was going and where she was probably going to remain. When I finally got there, I heard a soft sound coming out of the Portrait Hole and the Fat Lady was dabbing her eyes.

I walked in a vaguely recognized whatever she was playing in the middle of the Common Room. I realized absently, she was crying gently, which surprised me, because I had felt nothing coming from her, no emotions strong enough to incur that kind of reaction. I prodded at her consciousness and found that she wasn't sad, it was just admiration, just complete admiration for the beauty of the piece.

She stopped playing at the end of the piece and she wiped her cheeks quickly, and smiled,

"Ave Maria. It's always been one of my favorites, ever since I was a little girl and I used to hear it played by my instructor all the time. He gave me the means to see its beauty." I smiled and she placed it back in its case. We walked up to my dorm together, and fell asleep soundlessly, the free children of the dark, as intertwined as their fates now were.

**See you guys tomorrow. :) Oh, and I have links to the songs on my profile if you want to hear them, check it out.  
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	27. Christmas at Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: You got the general idea by now, right?**

**Hi! So, this is a really long one, and here's where the canon plot line goes out the window, or at least starts too. It's Christmas Morning and all that jazz, so yay for Melanie and Sirius! This is the last kind of light hearted, kind of slow chapter for a while, because after this, things start to snowball, quite quickly.  
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**Keep an eye out for Lucius, he really tears shit up next chapter. Try and guess what he does, but PM me, because the it's kind of nasty. The 'M' rating wasn't a joke.  
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**Read, review, and enjoy,  
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**Stars.  
**

MELANIE POV

I woke up two days after the hearing, to a bright Christmas morning, sharing a bed with Sirius. It was a good start to the day. I checked the clock and saw it was 9 in the morning, which surprised me considering, Sirius was a total Christmas freak. Every year, he would get all of us out of bed before the Sun was up to open presents, but he was still soundly asleep, which kind of concerned me. I rolled over and poked him on the nose and whispered,

"Sirius? Are you awake? It's Christmas." His eyes sprung open and he flew out of bed, effectively pushing me off the bed. He laughed and scooped me up, and carried me down the stairs, crying happily,

"It's Christmas, Mellie! Christmas!" I laughed and replied lightly,

"Well, Merry Christmas to you too, Padfoot." He chuckled and placed me in front of the Christmas tree that had taken up residence in the corner of the Common Room sometime last week. He ran back upstairs to do God knows what, and I chuckled to myself, at how like a little kid he was.

A moment later, he returned with a square-ish package about the size of a textbook, and a much smaller one, that looked suspiciously like jewelry was in it. I grinned and pull mine out from under the tree and he looked horrified,

"You mean to say, my present has been right in front of me the whole time?" I laughed at him,

"You got it, Pads." I tossed him a package that I knew had a book called _1,001 Really Amusing (and Only Slightly Illegal) Things to do in the Wizarding World _in it_._ It also had a copy of the photo I had looked at the day we had left, because I knew he couldn't take it with him when he left. He opened it and laughed at the book title, holding it up. I snapped a picture with my camera, which I had brought down the night before.

"They make a book like this?" I shrugged at him,

"I guess. I saw it last summer and grabbed it, because well, you like to do amusing, and only a slightly illegal, things." He found the picture and smiled,

"Aw, thanks Mel. I had to leave all of these stuck to my wall at Grimmauld, which is a shame." He leaned over and gave me a hug, which I easily returned. He handed me both of the packages and I opened the bigger one first. It was a photo album. I opened it and it was filled with all kinds of crap. There was a Gryffindor pennant tucked into one of the pages, pictures of us at Nocte, of Lily and I last Summer, there was one of me at the Potter's last Easter Break, laughing at the camera. I give the camera the finger and then Sirius comes into the frame and I hop on his back and we both grin at the camera.

There were even pictures of us as kids, in my family's gardens, laughing and playing in the mud, playing tag with Cissy, Reg, and Katie. There were Muggle pictures too.

There was one of Lily, Sirius, James, and I outside a Muggle movie theatre. It was Christmas Break of last year; easily identifiable by the clothes we were wearing. Lily and I were next to each other, in the middle of the picture, our hands thrown across each other's shoulders. Sirius was at the edge of the picture, next to me, his arm around my waist, and James was next to Lils, thrilled she was letting him put his arm around her. We were all smiling, and my checks were pink from the cold. I had a beanie of James' pulled over my ears and hair, which looked great, thanks to the low humidity.

I smiled. It really was a great present.

"Padfooot. I feel horrible now. I got you crappy gifts." He laughed,

"Oh no you didn't. Do you know how much amusement this entire school is going to get out of that book?" I smiled but didn't agree, silently. I opened the smaller box, and true to my gift instincts, it was jewelry. Absolutely beautiful (and probably really expensive) jewelry.

It was a necklace. My Pureblooded upbringing kicked in and I realized it was 100% real. The 'chain' was a twisted cord, and the circular pendant that hung down was gold, and a blue stone. Lapis Lazuli, I was almost positive. The backset of it was the Lapis Lazuli, and there was a beautiful design in the gold on it. It was beautiful, and I knew where I had seen it before…

"_Ugh, Mel, not ANOTHER store. Pleaseeee." Sirius groaned. Melanie laughed,_

"_Shut up, Sirius. We're in New York City, and it's Tiffany's. It's the best, and I've always wanted to go. Please." He rolled his eyes but conceded anyways. It was the summer before their sixth year, and their parents had allowed them to go to the States for a week, on their own. She dragged him by the hand into the store, where a sales lady came right over to them._

"_Hi, welcome to Tiffany and Co., how can I help you?" Melanie just smiled at her,_

"_We're just looking."_

"_Anything in particular? I could point you in the right direction. Engagement rings?" Sirius choked on nothing in particular,_

"_How old do you think we are, exactly?" She appraised the teenagers in front of her,_

"_22 give or take." Mel laughed,_

"_Sorry, but no. We're both 16. And not even dating." The woman looked embarrassed, "But it's totally fine. Mistakes happen." She left soon after, leaving the two teens to look around the store. Or rather, Mel dragged Sirius through the store as she looked at the highly priced jewelry._

_She stopped at a display of necklaces. There was a blue and gold pendant on display. The woman saw her eyeing it, and asked if she wanted to have it taken out of the case,_

"_I can't, I'm sorry, but I don't have that kind of money, not for a piece of jewelry, no matter how beautiful."_

"_Yes, that happens quite a lot here." The woman answered her and Mel replied softly, not thinking anyone had heard her,_

"_I bet it does." They left soon after that, back to their hotel. _

Okay, now I had really given crap gifts. I smiled at it, but was a little panicked,

"Are you nuts? Do you know how expensive this is? I sure as Hell remember. You don't have unlimited money anymore, Sirius. You can't just go buying your friends jewelry that's worth more than most people's houses, your money can run out now, you know, and I'll be damned if it's because of me." He chuckled,

"Mel, relax, I bought it before we left. I swiped some money from my father's safe, no money was lost. Well, mine anyways. I saw your face last summer. You really wanted it. It's Christmas, the time of giving, Mel. I'm not asking you to sell your soul, you know." I sighed. It really _was_ pretty.

"I still feel like a crap friend."

"Don't. Think about all the stuff you do for me, like scaring off the fan club, you're a good friend. If it makes you feel better, the necklace wasn't part of the original plan, it just sort of found its way into my present for you." I smiled,

"Well, in that case, thank you. I'm going to put it somewhere safe, because I know you, and something potentially disastrous and messy is more than likely going to happen today." He laughed and looked quite like he agreed with me.

"So, whose presents next? Prongs'?" I grinned,

"Yeah, sure, and if my beanie isn't in there, I'm going to make heads roll." He chuckled and handed me the present made out to me in James' handwriting. I opened it and my beanie fell out and I cheered loudly. There was also a dog collar in the package with the nametag on it said: _Mellie. If lost please return to: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gryffindor House._ I chuckled,

"Did you get one of these too?" I asked Sirius. He laughed and held his up. It was the same but his said: _Padfoot. If lost please return to: 4 Merlin Way, Godric's Hollow, England._ Oh, James.

I got a quill that wrote in invisible ink from Remus, that only I could see, a purse with a undetectable extension charm on it from Marley, a picture of the girls and a pretty bracelet from Alice, a set of Exploding Snap cards from Wormtail, and a picture of Lily, Petunia, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, and I at an amusement park along with a large box of candy from Lils.

Sirius got a book on pranking from Remus, an interesting hat from Marlene that involved feathers and sequins, a large quantity of candy from Alice, a set of Wizard's Chess from Peter, and a letter from Lily he refused to let me see, no matter how much I pestered him for it. All he did was blush and shove it in the pocket of his pajamas. I realized there were four presents still untouched. They were obviously for us, unless the house elves made a mistake, which was highly unlikely. I grabbed them and tossed the two that were addressed to Sirius to him, and laughed as I threw the second one to him,

"Ha-ha, sucks to be you." The package was giving of the strong scent of vanilla, and I laughed at poor, poor Sirius' misfortune. I looked down at the handwritings on my packages, and I recognized Cissy and Reg's handwriting. I smiled and opened Cissy's moderately sized box that had a surprising weight to it, and gasped audibly. She had given me the one thing she could think of to help me take care of myself. She had taken a box, and filled it with Galleons. There must have been—well, I don't even know. The box was about a square foot big, and six inches deep, and it was filled to the brim with galleons. On top of the money, was a note: _Congratulations, but freedom comes with a price. Hopefully this will help cover it. Love, Cissy_. Sirius began to ask me a question when he caught a glimpse of the inside of the box,

"Who sent—wow." Sirius was looking over my shoulder and presumably read the note, because he chuckled and whispered to himself, "Who knew my cousin had it in her?" I closed the box and made a mental note to take that straight up to my dorm and put it where I had the rest of my money: safely hidden. I looked at Sirius with a smirk on my lips,

"Well, are you going to open it?" I gestured to the pink, vanilla-scented package in his hands. He groaned, but took the pink wrapping paper off of the gift Rita Skeeter had sent him. He groaned again and hid his face in his hands, as I rolled on the rug in front of the fireplace, laughing with tears rolling down my face.

"She got you—haha—oh my God—sh—she got you a—hahaha—a—oh, I am so sorry—haha." He threw the violently pink and scented wrapping paper at me, sending me into another round of laughter. He was muttering to himself,

"I can't believe it. I can't believe it."

"Mate, I hate to tell you, but I'm pretty sure it's restraining order time."

"Shut up, Mel. Please shut up."

"Ha. I'm never letting this go." I was laughing again, but I had quieted slightly, so now I was just giggling.

"Oh, yes you are. We are never speaking of this again. Come on, let's go to the kitchens, 'kay?" I laughed at him some more, but let him pull me up by my hands, and we walked down to the kitchens together.

When we got there, one of the house elves ran up to us,

"Young Mistress Taylor! Master Black! How can Annie help young Miss and Mister today?" I smiled at her. The house elves here were kind, and so happy all the time, contrary to Pinky, or the Black's house elf, Kreacher.

"Annie, can we have, er, Sirius, what do you want?"

"Breakfast foods?"

"Yeah, can we have some breakfast foods?" She smiled and replied,

"Oh, yes, Annie will bring it to you, sit down, Mister Black, Miss Taylor." She pushed us over to a table by the large fireplace in the kitchen and we sat, talking and I was still mocking him over Rita's gift.

Just then, the object of our discussion came into the kitchens, with none other than Lucius Malfoy. They looked surprised to see us, but Lucius hid any kind of discomfort well.

"Ah, Taylor. Black. How are my fiancée's favorite Blood Traitors, this Christmas morning?" I glared at him,

"I was fine, until you walked in, Malfoy. Is there a particular reason you're with Rita here?"

"Ah, you see, Narcissa is a beautiful girl, but she's very uptight, unlike Miss. Skeeter here, who is more than willing to…indulge me." He said the last two words lightly, delicately. I wanted to kill him. And I'm pretty sure I would have, seeing as I was halfway across the kitchen by the time Sirius restrained me.

My wand was out of my hand, and Sirius had wrapped his arms around my waist, but not gently, like he was just there to be comforting, but he was ready to pin me to the ground to keep me from attacking Lucius in the Kitchens on Christmas morning, before I even knew what was happening. The Malfoy boy grinned,

"Ah, you two would have had beautiful children, though admittedly, they would have been a pain in the ass to deal with, had the engagement not fallen through. Such a shame you had to play the hero, Taylor, even when you were eight, you were an attention seeker. Tell me, what's it like to have your own parents hate the sight of you, darling cousin?" I snarled at him, feeling the control over the dog starting to slip a little.

In a heartbeat, his wand was out, and poor, poor Sirius was in a full body bind curse. Rita was standing in the entrance, petrified. I suspected she had heard rumors of how nasty Purebloods could be to each other, but had never been a first-hand witness to the cruelty. Lucius came closer to me, and slowly touched my face. I swatted his hand away, but he tsked.

"I don't think so, Taylor. I know spells far worse than a body bind." I was unarmed and his threat came through loud and clear, no matter how unspoken it may be. I glanced at Rita and begged her with my eyes. _Run. Go get a teacher. Dumbledore. Flitch. Anyone. Go._ But, it seemed she was frozen, completely in shock. _Mel. Punch him out. Do something don't just stand there. Kick him in the balls. Something. I'm fine. Beat his ass. _**I—I can't. **_Yes you can._

For someone whose bodily well-being was being threatened, he was surprisingly calm. _Do it. _And I did. I kicked him in the crotch and he fell to the ground, just as Sirius' body bind broke. He stood and grabbed Lucius by the shirt, thoroughly pissed off. Shit.

SIRIUS POV

I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him violently and gruesomely in front of his family. No one touches my best friend like that and gets away with it. I stood and grabbed him by the shirt and backed him into a corner, my face inches from his, my mind unstable, and for all his talk, Lucius Malfoy was scared, rightfully so. I towered over him at 6 foot 2, and a beater's muscles were nothing to laugh at. I was just as emotionally unstable as he was, and he knew it.

"Ah, Black, let me go. It was just a bit of fun, you know? Really nothing different than how you treat those girls who chase after you, well, the ones you sleep with at any rate. But there hasn't been much of that this year. What's the change?" I glared at him, and tightened my grip on his throat momentarily. I knew the answer and so did he. The only person in the room who didn't know was probably Melanie. Melanie. Hothead Melanie had just nailed him in the family jewels, ah, I love that girl.

Wait, what? No, I don't love her. Oh, Hell no. Sirius Black may love people, but he doesn't fall _in_ love with girls. No. I don't do that. Never have and I never will. A little voice that sounded suspiciously like Moony whispered in the back of my mind, _you want him dead. You hate boys who look at her. You're jealous of your brother. Don't deny it. That's more than friendship, no matter how close._ No. I hate the guys because she's my friend. I'm not jealous of Regulus. And damn straight I want Lucius dead. All of a sudden, a small hand placed itself on my upper arm, and a gentle, feminine voice spoke to me,

"Sirius. Don't do this. Don't mutilate him in front of the house elves. You're better than this." Was I? Was I better than this? I didn't feel like it. But I wanted to prove her right, to make her proud that I can walk away. I let Lucius go, and hissed,

"Do it again, and I'll kill you." He smirked and addressed Mel,

"We'll meet again, one day without all the bothersome company, cousin." She took a step towards me, and I pulled her closer, and I could feel her shaking. Rita looked at us, for a long moment, and followed Lucius Malfoy out the portrait hole.

RITA POV

I didn't know what to think. I hated Melanie Taylor, loved Sirius, and was having a fling with Lucius.

So when we walked into the Kitchens, and I saw Taylor and Sirius sitting at the table, I was excited and irritated at the same time. Lucius spoke to them, in a way I had never heard him speak before.

"Ah, Taylor. Black. How are my fiancées favorite Blood Traitors, this Christmas morning?" Narcissa was his fiancée? Well, her loss for not keeping him on a tighter leash.

"I was fine, until you walked in, Malfoy. Is there a particular reason you're with Rita here?" Taylor hissed back and I was surprised, she was usually so infuriatingly happy, and even when she spoke to me, she only seemed irritated. But this, this was pure, unadulterated hate. Lucius grinned.

"Ah, you see, Narcissa is a beautiful girl, but she's very uptight, unlike Miss. Skeeter here, who is more than willing to…indulge me." He almost whispered the last two words and almost as soon as they were out, Taylor was halfway across the kitchen, attempting to physically attack Lucius.

Sirius had grabbed her wand and wrapped his arms around her, restraining instead of gently. Lucius appraised them for a moment, and the words that came out his mouth made my jaw drop in surprise.

"Ah, you two would have had beautiful children, though admittedly, they would have been a pain in the ass to deal with, had the engagement not fallen through," THEY WERE ENGAGED? "Such a shame you had to play the hero, Taylor, even when you were eight, you were an attention seeker. Tell me, what's it like to have your own parents hate the sight of you, darling cousin?" She snarled at him, very much like a caged dog, angry and defensive. I can't believe they were actually engaged.

Lucius pulled out his wand and put a full body bind on Sirius, and I just stood there, terrified. These people, they weren't like average people, they were unstable and cutthroat. Lucius walked towards Taylor and touched her face. She pushed his hand away and glared at him, she smiled back.

"I don't think so, Taylor. I know spells far worse than a body bind." She froze. I knew what it meant: Lucius knew how to control her, put a threat on Sirius, and she'll do what you say. Then, swiftly, she kicked him in the balls. He fell to the ground and Sirius was up, he grabbed Lucius and jammed him into a wall. Taylor backed up, trying to get out of the way. I heard Lucius chuckle nervously,

"Ah, Black, let me go. It was just a bit of fun, you know? Really nothing different than how you treat those girls who chase after you, well, the ones you sleep with at any rate. But there hasn't been much of that this year. What's the change?" I knew what it was. It was Melanie Taylor. She was the change. She made him want to be the best him, and that included not sleeping around. Lucius gagged for a second, and all of a sudden, Taylor was next to Sirius, and put a hand on his upper arm, where I could see the muscle flexing,

"Sirius. Don't do this. Don't mutilate him in front of the house elves. You're better than this." He paused, and seemed to have an internal battle. Finally he let go of Lucius.

"Do it again and I'll kill you." He snarled at Lucius, who smirked at the other girl in the room,

"We'll meet again, one day without all the bothersome company, cousin." Melanie was Lucius' cousin? She looked momentarily afraid and took a subconscious step towards Sirius, who wrapped a protective arm around her, this time his touch was gentle, soft and loving, he was protective of her, and I didn't doubt that he would burn down Heaven and freeze Hell over to protect her. Lucius brushed by me, and I paused before following him out of the portrait hole.

I knew Purebloods were unstable, there was no denying that, but I didn't know how violent, cruel and cutthroat they truly were.

I would have runaway too.

**Uh-oh. PM me with your guess if you want. Next chapter isn't pretty, and I honestly had a hard time writing it, but I tried my best, and yeah.**

**I put a picture of her necklace up on my profile, so if you want to see it, check it out. :)  
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**See you tomorrow!  
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	28. Give Him Hell

**Disclaimer 1: It all belongs to JKR, except plot and OC's, those belong to me.**

**Disclaimer 2: OKAY, SO I WANT TO BE VERY SERIOUS RIGHT NOW AND SAY THAT THIS IS A VERY GRAPHIC AND VERY VIOLENT CHAPTER, AND I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE M RATING ISN'T A JOKE, AND IT ISN'T FOR SAFETY. IT'S LEGIT. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY LONG CHAPTER, AND I DID MY BEST WITH THINGS I'M UNFAMILIAR WITH (YOU'LL SEE), I HAD A HARD TIME WRITING IT, EMOTIONALLY AND MENTALLY (AKA WRITERS BLOCK).**

**Yeah, so those are my two disclaimers and I hope you enjoyed them, and I hope you guys like the chapter itself, if not what happens (I know I don't). So the POV's go Melanie, Sirius, and then it ends in Cissy's POV, so yeah. **

**So, I've had a few people ask me about Rita's Christmas gift, but it won't show up for another two or three chapters, because it doesn't fit in here or the next one.  
**

**See you guys tomorrow. (I'd put a smiley face here, but it's inappropriate).  
**

MELANIE POV

It was two days after the encounter in the Kitchens when I ran into Lucius again. I was walking down to the Quidditch Pitch to watch my overexcited best friend hit a bludger around a giant field, when a had clamped over my mouth and a voice whispered,

"Scream and you watch him die." I was dragged into a deserted classroom, and he put silencing charms on the walls and door. There was one thing going through my head: he was going to rape me, and I knew it. I could scream all I wanted now, no one would hear me. He came closer and pinned me to the ground. I knew I couldn't get away now, but I could give him Hell.

SIRIUS POV

I had started to warm-up before Melanie got here; because I know how boring she finds Quidditch anyways, let alone warming up. Twenty minutes passed, and she still wasn't in the stands. _Mellie? _No answer, and no emotions either. She was purposely keeping me out, something she never does. Ever. Something was wrong, that much I was certain. I flew down and grabbed the Map out of my bag and looked for her. I found her in an abandoned classroom and Lucius Malfoy walking in the opposite direction in the corridor outside of it. I didn't bother putting my things away, I just ran. I ran until I got to the classroom and I pushed open the door.

There she was, crying and barely conscious, not really clothed either. I came towards her and she visibly winced. I put my hands up, my palms facing her, a sign of innocence.

"It's okay, Mellie, I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe with me." She nodded and I pulled off my shirt and pulled it around her, trying to give her a little dignity. She let me pick her up, and I took her back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and went up to her dorm, using the counter curse of the spell on the stairs, and found clothes for her. I came back down with her stuff, and she was still shaking. I had no idea what to do.

There was only one thing I could think of to do. There were only three people who could help, and one of which was engaged to the lunatic who had done this, which meant Narcissa was out as an option, and so was my brother, due to the fact that he wasn't in the castle. That left me with one option. So, I ran up to my room and found Floo powder. I went to the Common Room and shouted,

"Evans' House!" I felt my body spin and I fell out of the Evans' kitchen fireplace. Mr. Evans was in the Kitchen.

"Sirius? Wha—"

"Where's Lily?" He dropped his coffee at the abruptness of my question.

"Upstairs?" I ran without thanking him. I ran down the hall yelling,

"Evans? Evans? Lily!" Her head poked out of the door to Petunia's room.

"Sirius? Is everything okay?" She was expecting me to say 'Oh, yeah, everything's fine, just a dare from Mel'. I didn't though.

"No. It's not. It's Mellie." She looked concerned.

"I'll pack now."

"No time. I'll come back. We need to go." I began to pull her down the stairs, and she began to pull back towards to top of the stairs, trying got get me to stop my rough pulling on her wrist.

"Sirius, will you stop? What is going on?!" I stopped and faced her,

"I found her alone and naked in an empty classroom, Evans. She was crying."

"So? Maybe she had sex."

"I'm the only guy in castle right now, except for Lucius. And Dumbledore, but he doesn't really count. " Her eyebrows shot up.

"Are you saying…?"

"She was raped Lily. I'm almost positive." She ran with me now, and we got in the fireplace together, and I yelled,

"Gryffindor Common Room!" Leaving her parents in utter confusion. We spun in the green flames and found her where I had left her. Lily ran towards her and Melanie winced and recoiled from her. Evans stopped in her tracks and looked at me,

"You try." I did and she didn't try to get away, or wince. I spoke gently to her,

"Mel? It's Lily. She's not going to hurt you. We're here to help you. Lily wants to make you feel better. Right Evans?" Evans came slightly closer to her, with her hands up, like I had, and said softly,

"That's right. Mel, I want to help, but I can't do that if you won't let me near you." Mellie nodded and Lily came close and hugged her. Finally, at long last, she said,

"Can I take a shower? I can still feel him on me." Lily looked at me, and I shrugged. Evans answered,

"That's fine, but I have to know something now. It can't wait, no matter how much I wish it could. Mellie, did he perform contraceptive spells or use a condom? I need to know so I can go get you a potion from Hogsmeade if he didn't." She shook again, and shook her head no as she began to cry again. I sighed.

"Sirius, can you give me James' cloak and the Map?"

"How do you know about the Map? And the cloak for that matter."

"You aren't as sly as you think."

"Oh. Well, here you go." I handed her the Map and accio'ed the cloak. She took them and hesitated.

"You should probably be in the bathroom when she takes a shower. She's traumatized, and girls do stupid things when they're like this."

"What do you mean?"

"Like trying to commit suicide."

"Oh. Yeah, okay, I'll sit on the toilet or something. Hurry back." Lily left and I helped Melanie up and led her up to the girls' dorm, and into their bathroom. I spoke softly,

"I'm going to just sit here on the ground while you're in there. We don't want any accidents." She nodded and began to shakily take her clothes off. I noticed things in the brighter light of the bathroom I hadn't seen before.

Lucius Malfoy was known for a lot of things, but his kindness to women wasn't one of them. I didn't doubt it, looking at her. Her hips were starting to turn purple, and she had scratches on her back and neck. She was probably going to have a bruised cheekbone too, when she woke up tomorrow morning. I noticed a faint handprint shaped bruise on the side of her neck, like he had tried to choke her. She saw me staring and smiled humorlessly,

"You should see the other guy." I smiled dryly,

"I don't doubt it. Lily can fix the bruises when she gets back." She answered abruptly, and with surprising force,

"No. I want him to see what he did. When we go down to breakfast tomorrow, which we _will_ do, I want him to know that I'm not running from what happened." I was surprised but not shocked at her decision. She got in the shower and called out, "I sing in the shower, I hope you don't care." I smiled to myself,

"Go for it." She began to sing, and it wasn't exactly a happy song, by the way.

**Oh Florida, please be still tonight  
Don't disturb this love of mine  
Look how she's so serene  
You've gotta help me out**

And count the stars to form in lines  
And find the words we'll sing in time  
I want to keep her dreaming  
It's my one wish, I won't forget this

I'm outdated, overrated  
Morning seems so far way

So I'll sing a melody  
And hope to God she's listening  
Sleeping softly while I sing  
And I'll be your memories  
Your lullaby for all the times  
Hoping that my voice could get it right

If luck is on my side tonight  
My clumsy tongue will make it right  
And wrists that touch  
It isn't much, but it's enough  
To form imaginary lines  
Forget your scars, we'll forget mine  
The hours change so fast  
Oh God, please make this last

'Cause I'm outdated, overrated  
Morning seems so far way

So I'll sing a melody  
And hope to God she's listening  
Sleeping softly while I sing  
And I'll be your memories  
Your lullaby for all the times  
Hoping that my voice could get it right  
Could get it right

You could crush me  
Please don't crush me  
'Cause baby I'm a dreamer for sure  
And I won't let you down  
I swear this time I mean it

And I'll sing a melody  
And hope to God she's listening  
Sleeping softly while I sing  
And I'll be your memories  
Your lullaby for all the times  
Hoping that my voice could get it right.

She got out of the shower and looked better than she had. Then I realized something.

"Mel? Where's your wand?" She looked down,

"He took it. I'll have to get a new one now." I smiled kindly at her,

"Oh, when Lily comes back, I'll go look for it. Besides, I wanted to make a visit to old Lucius anyways." She looked up at me,

"Thank you. You don't have to get into trouble because of me, though." I followed her back into her dorm room and sat on her bed as she considered what to wear, I heard her whisper, "Nothing too tight." I raised an eyebrow.

"Mel. Look at me." She did, "This wasn't your fault. This had nothing to do with how you dress, or how you look, but the fact that Lucius is the biggest dick on the face of the planet. Don't blame yourself." She smiled,

"Thank you. But I just don't feel right wearing tight clothes right now. Besides, do you think they're actually comfortable?" I shrugged, never having given it much thought,

"Do you want to borrow pajama pants? God knows they'll be too big." She smiled again, and it felt great to be able to make her do that,

"Why not? It's not like anyone can judge me in the Common Room. I guess I can wear a tank top, too." I smiled and left to quickly grab a pair of plaid pajama pants and came back to see she was staring at her bruised hips in the mirror. I closed the door softly and said,

"I'm not a virgin anymore. It's strange, ya know?" I handed her the pants and she put them on, and I'll admit, she looked pretty cute in my pants. Even considering the circumstances. I answered her absent-mindedly.

"Losing your virginity shouldn't be like that. It shouldn't be taken. It shouldn't be that painful. Virginity should be given. And I'm really, really sorry." She looked up at me, and I momentarily wondered if I had pissed her off.

She didn't seem mad, and came and sat down next to me on the foot of her bed, and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"You're a really good guy, Sirius. Has anyone ever told you that?" I smiled at the wall opposite of me.

"You've told me I'm a good friend, but never a good person, no." She sighed.

"Well, you are, and you deserve to know it." Just then Lily came in and she was carrying a bag.

"Hey guys. So, I have one Plan-B potion, and one anti-disease brew, for my favorite brunette, just don't tell Alice." She said it all cheerily, and I kind of went along with it.

"Evans, You got it from here? I'm going on the great 'Melanie's wand hunt'. And I'm going to have a little chat with Lucius if I happen to run into him." I expected prefect Lily to tell me not break school rules and all that crap, but she just smiled and said,

"Give him Hell from me." I winked back at her and left Gryffindor Tower, after I made a quick stop in my dorm. I started at the room where I found her and searched for her wand all over the room, hoping to find it discarded somewhere, but, no luck. I then began to make my way to the Slytherin Common Room, looking as I went for the missing wand.

I reached the portrait hole and the man in the painting looked at me snootily.

"And who are you? Not one of Pureblood I presume?" I looked at it,

"My name's Sirius Black." The man's eyes lit up,

"A Black? Ooooh, I love your family. Go on, in. Go right in." And I didn't even need to give a password. I walked in to see Lucius and Rita on a couch, talking about something or another, when Rita looked up and saw me she looked rather confused. Accurate, considering I've never set foot in here unless it was to blow something up. Lucius looked up too, at her facial expression, and his turned to arrogant bastard mode.

"Ah, Black. What are you doing here? How did a Blood Traitor like you even get in?" I smirked as he stood to face me.

"Someone needs to inform your portrait that I've been disowned." He stepped into light being cast through the window that showed the lake. I grinned to myself. Mel hadn't been kidding. She'd given him Hell. It appeared that she had taken her long nails and clawed his face repeatedly, suspiciously close to his right eye, like she had been trying to take it out of his face.

"I'll give you this Black: she's got fire. Girls like that are a lot of fun, if you can control them like they should be." He pulled off his shirt and I saw there were claw marks and violent bruises everywhere. She had really done a job on him. I moved closer, blood boiling.

"You know why I'm here Malfoy."

"Do I now? Is this about my cousin? Can you not find her?"

"Oh, I found her alright. I found her without her wand, crying, naked, and scared in an unused classroom on the fourth floor." He raised an eyebrow, feigning interest.

"How on Earth did she get there?" I moved closer, and Rita had tactfully moved behind me, seeing where this was going. No amount of perfume could clog her brain that much.

"I think you know, Malfoy. I knew you were a scumbag, but raping a girl, one a year younger than you, is below even you. Or so I thought." He didn't look amused anymore, probably because I was about a foot from him, out for murder, "You're lucky I don't kill you here, I know the spell and would be more than happy, believe me. But I ask myself, how does that make me any different than you?" He opened his mouth to answer and I punched him straight in the jaw, and produced the beater's bat I had grabbed from my dorm before I had left the Tower.

"What the fuck man?" He's eyeing the bat warily. It's here not as a threat, but as a promise, this time. I carry out on Melanie's promise of what would happen to him if he hurt Narcissa, and whack him between the legs, not feeling the least bit bad about it. Narcissa comes down the stairs just then and looked rather panicked.

"Sirius? What are you doing here? Did you just hit him in the balls? OH MY GOD! STOP!" I hit him again, and again until he's on the ground. Cissy tries to pull me off him, but I turn to her, and she looks rather afraid.

"Do you know what he did to your best friend? Your _sister_. He raped her. He raped Melanie." Her eyes flashed dangerously, making me remember that she was in fact a Black, no matter how much like a Malfoy she acted and looked most days. No matter how much she didn't act like it, Narcissa was a hot-blooded, fiery tempered Black at heart. Of the scary variety. Something her fiancée had apparently forgotten along with me.

"Give me the bat." I handed it to her wordlessly. She bent down and whispered in his ear,

"I'm breaking the engagement right now. Go fuck yourself." She hit him in the head with the bat, knocking him out cold. Well, good for her, then. I took the bat back, and told her,

"Look for an extra wand. He took Mel's." She pulled off her engagement ring, and threw it in the Common Room fire, and turned to help me look for the wand. We found it in a pocket of his robes and we realized Rita was long gone.

We began to walk to Gryffindor Tower, and we were almost there when I said,

"Narcissa? I was wrong. You're my coolest cousin. I'll have to tell Andy her change in status." She laughed,

"It's Cissy. My friends and my real family call me Cissy." I grinned and brought Melanie the two things she desperately needed: Her childhood friend and her wand.

CISSY POV

I was worried. I knew that at the end of the day, I'd have to go back to the Slytherin Common Room, and face Lucius. But it had felt so right to tell him to fuck himself and it had felt natural to follow Sirius back to the Gryffindor Common Room, a place I'd never been. I realized that Sirius was actually a pretty nice guy, just kind of arrogant.

But Reg was right. Sirius was in love with Mel, and I honestly couldn't have been more thrilled for them. They were perfect for each other, and that made me so happy to see that she could be really happy one day. On our way up to what I presumed were the boy's dorms, he turned to me,

"That was a really brave thing you did back there. I'll speak to Dumbledore about seeing if we can get you to sleep up here." He gestures up the stairs, I answer,

"The boys' dorms?" He laughs,

"Nah, these are the girls' dorms, we just found a way around the charm."

"Oh, well, in that case, thanks." He grinned and we entered the sixth years' dorm and I saw Mellie and a girl whose name I thought was Lily Evans sitting on a bed, closest to the window.

I really did like Gryffindor Tower. It was much more friendly and open than the Slytherin Dungeons.

Mel looks up and sees Sirius first, who hands her her wand, and she gratefully takes it, and smiles at him. He grins back at her, and he sits down next to her on her bed. She lays her head on his shoulder, and he pulls her into his side. Her head jerks up and turns to me, and she smiles at me, unsurprised that I was there. I see a bruise forming of her cheekbone and I feel a new wave of anger well up in me.

Lily decides to take the initiative, and introduces herself,

"Hi, you must be Narcissa. I'm Lily Evans." I smile at her, and reply,

"Yeah, that's me. Narcissa Black. God, our family seems to be having problems with runaways this generation, right Sirius?" He winks at me, and Mel turns to stare at me,

"You—you broke the engagement?" I smile at her,

"Into pieces. I'm seventeen remember?"

"Yeah, you turned yesterday, right?" I nod.

"Looks like Mom and Dad couldn't get to me soon enough. Thank you Jesus for being born at such a convenient date." She grins and Lily smiles too and speaks up,

"Well, congratulations. On the birthday, and the engagement. Or lack thereof." I smile easily,

"Thanks." Sirius adds,

"Evans? I'm thinking of asking Dumbles if she can stay here in the tower until we graduate. What do you think?" She looks at me, and smiles,

"I think that would be a wonderful idea. Do you want me to come? A troublemaker and a prefect _are_ better than just the troublemaker. And stop calling Professor Dumbledore Dumbles."

"That's why I asked. Do you think Marles and Al will mind? And I will never stop."

"Ah, I doubt it. They love having other people in the dorm; besides, Al spends most of her time with Frank anyways. And at least I tried." Lily looks at me and smiles gently,

"If you want, you are more than welcome here. You've treated someone who's like my sister with a kindness I can never repay. If you want, this can be your new home." I smiled. That sounded really nice.

/"If Dumbledore would allow it, I'd love that." Lily grinned.

"Well, let's go find out, eh, Sirius?" He grinned,

"You bet Evans." They left and I grinned at Mel.

"Those are some good friends you have there, Mellie." She smiled,

"Yeah, I guess I do." She patted the bed next to her and I sat down and she sighed,

"Look, Cissy. You know that Lucius technically cheated on you with me. Sorry about that."

"Are you serious?" She grinned,

"Actually, Sirius just left the room."

"Really?"

"Get used to it if you're going to be a Gryffindor. The Serious Sirius jokes have been around since forever." I laughed,

"I'll remember that. But really, I don't blame you. You're not someone who willing jumped into an engaged guy's pants, that's Rita Skeeter's job. I don't blame you, and if someone does, tell me who and I'll beat the shit out of them." She grinned,

"You and Reg right?" I looked sharply at her,

"You don't really think he's coming back, do you?" She looked at me like I was nuts,

"Of course I do, Cissy, he's on Christmas Vacation not a suicide mission."

"You didn't open his Christmas gift, did you?" She slapped her forehead,

"No, Sirius got well, come here." She waves her hand and I lean over and she whispers the infamous present in my ear and I snicker.

"Who gives someone that?"

"My sentiments exactly."

"But go get the letter, now. Before Sirius and Lily come back." She dashed out of the room and returned a minute later with an envelope in her hand. She opened it and began to read…

**Oh, the song, "I Swear This Time I Mean It", belongs to MayDay Parade and their recording label, no copyright infringement intended, yada yada, etc.**

**Sorry for the cliffhanger, don't be _too_ mad. And try not to have nightmares about what happened. :( Here's a little of next chapter...**

_******"Welcome home, Narcissa.**"_

**Oh, SNAP.  
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**And I know some of you will be like, 'How is she getting over this so fast? She almost died of grief when she got in a fight earlier in the school year.' And, luckily for you, I have the answer!  
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**She's 'moving on' per say because she has two (now three) people who she loves and trusts unequivocally and unconditonally taking care of her and protecting her. Lily, Sirius, and Cissy bring out the best and strongest Melanie and that's really what we're seeing. But trust me, she's far from being back to normal, and it rather jumpy and a little scared of people just coming up and touching her for the next like 6 months to a year.  
**

**So, I hope that answers you question, and this is where the pretty much complete uncanon plot begins (especially with Cissy and Reg) to unfold. I didn't mess with the Lily and James timeline, so they've got about another year of fights and screaming "POTTER!"**

**Review guys. :)  
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**Stars.  
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	29. The Ring

**Disclaimer: Yup, pretty much the same as the last 27 disclaimers...**

**SO, this one has something really big in it: THE MEANING OF THE TITLE! Some of you made have figured out where it comes from, but there's a full blown description in this one.  
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**I hope you guys liked last chapter, because I had a really hard time writing it, but I was pretty happy overall with how it came out. :)  
**

**There is another allusion to the Christmas gift Rita gets Sirius, but you guys won't find out until next chapter (maybe the one after?) what it is exactly (here's a hint: it's ridiculous).  
**

**But, you're probably going to be too busy thinking about the other stuff in the next COUPLE (hint hint) of chapters. The next one is New Year's Eve, and yeah, it's a pretty fun one, so enjoy this for now, and see you guys tomorrow. :)  
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**Read, Review, and Enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

MELANIE POV

The letter went like this…

_Ellie,_

_By the time this letter reaches you, I will have sentenced myself to a certain death, but you have the right, as my closest friend, to know why. You remember the day I told you what my future was going to hold? So do I. I told you that I was going to be come a Death Eater the month after I turned 16, which last month, I did. I took the Mark along with several other people, whose names' I have been forbidden to speak. But recently, I found that there was something much more sinister to the Dark Lord than anyone, including you, my brother, or even Dumbledore, imagined._

_There is a way to defeat him, and it involves sacrifice. I know I must sacrifice myself, so that when the time is right, he may be mortal once more. I do not know what Dumbledore, nor his secret society know, but I know this, and can pass it along to you, my oldest and dearest friend, in confidence this information will reach the right hands: There are horcruxes. I know he has made at least three and intends to make more. That is where I am going. I have found one, and intend to destroy it, as soon as possible._

_But now, I speak to you, not as an informant, but as a friend. You need to listen Melanie, as this is important. My brother loves you, and I suspect he always has, it is you and your ever-optimistic opinion of him that kept him out of the darkness that creeps into your soul as you reside in 12 Grimmauld Place._

_I know you don't believe in such things, but you need to at least listen to what your battered and fragile heart is saying, because the rest of the school has seen it now for years: you love him, too. You need each other more than you could imagine, someone to hold your hand as the loss you will undoubtedly suffer in this war begins to fold in on you, and threaten your very soul._

_Do you remember that Muggle author we had to read as children? Shakespeare, his name was I think. "__Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" was a quote that struck me then, and it always made me think of you and your ability to be one of the most amazing people I know, and still be ridiculously under credited, because, Elle, you're afraid of greatness, you're so afraid of becoming great, not for the greatness itself, but for the power that comes with it. _

_You look in the mirror and see someone who could become your father, someone corrupted by the power given to her, which brings me back around to why you need my brother, who will treat you outstandingly well, if I do guess correctly. You need someone like you to keep you grounded when you become great, because you will be great, whether you like it or not._

_Tell Cissy she is my favorite cousin and Sirius that he gave me the strength to do what's right, and not what's easy, for once. Tell my brother and Cissy that I love them and that I say goodbye._

_Don't be afraid, darling; you're not alone, no matter how abandoned you may feel,_

_Take care, and good-bye,_

_R.A.B._

_P.S. Look to Kreacher and show him what's enclosed in a month, but hold onto it for Sirius until he has stabilized a little, I have left money for Katie, do not worry about her, use it so you never have to have financial worries, once you two are together. Which will happen, whether you believe me or not._

Enclosed was the ring that the heir to the family wore, heavy and platinum and stamped with the Black family crest. It was Regulus' title. Without the ring, he wasn't the heir to the family. I let the solid ring fall into my palm. I was familiar with it: Sirius had, in fact, worn it until he had run away, but had then left it for his little brother. I ran over to my desk and found a length of deep blue ribbon and carefully threaded the ring onto it, to keep it from being lost or seen, and placed it around my neck, feeling like not only the ring, but a hundred pounds had just been placed around my neck along with it.

Without another word to Cissy, I fell to my knees and began to cry for my lost brother. Cissy leaned down next to me and helped me up onto my bed. Just then, there was a new bed in the room. No bright light, no sound. Just all of a sudden, there was a bed. I looked at the trunk next to it, and recognized it as the trunk of Narcissa Walburga Black. Dumbledore had agreed. I opened it and saw that all of the school uniforms had been changed from green and silver ties and crests to crimson and gold. Cissy was a Gryffindor. It was enough to stop my tears. New ones started, but this time, they were tears of joy.

She was crying too, completely overjoyed she didn't have to go back. We hugged tightly, and just then, Sirius and Lily walked in and I just about barreled them over with hugs. Lily smiled and hugged Narcissa,

"Welcome home, Narcissa."

"It's Cissy. My friends call me Cissy." I saw her crying and I smiled. This is where I was meant to be.

LUCIUS POV

Melanie Taylor confused me. She completely confused me. Well, actually she didn't. I just thought she was a girl who was rumored to be a virgin, and judging by how much she had bled, I didn't doubt it. I also didn't doubt that Black was going to come after me. They protected each other. Stupid, if you ask me, putting yourself in a compromising situation for someone who really doesn't matter that much in the long run.

But stupid or not, I knew that he was going to put me in worse condition than she had, and she had done quite a job on me. Throughout the whole ordeal (well, for her, it was fun for me), she had managed to rip open a side of my face, give me major bruising on my lower back, where she had repeatedly punched my kidneys, and had tried to castrate me with her bare hands. I shudder at the very thought. Then I would never have a heir. The thought is unthinkable.

I just didn't think that he would show up so fast, figuring that it would take him at least an hour for him to realize she was gone, let alone find her. So when he showed up about forty minutes after I had dragged her into that classroom, you could only imagine my surprise.

I didn't even notice him until Rita had looked up, confused. I looked up at him, smirking,

"Ah, Black. What are you doing here? How did a Blood Traitor like you even get in?" He smirked back at me, the smug bastard.

"Someone needs to inform your portrait that I've been disowned." I inwardly rolled my eyes. That damn portrait was going to be the downfall of this house. I hid my agitation by egging him on,

"I'll give you this Black: she's got fire. Girls like that are a lot of fun, if you can control them like they should be." I shrugged off my shirt to push him even further, which wasn't very hard, considering that he was a Black, and well, Black's have tempers. "You know why I'm here Malfoy." He snarled at me.

"Do I now? Is this about my cousin? Can you not find her?" I grinned.

"Oh, I found her alright. I found her without her wand, crying, naked, and scared in an unused classroom on the fourth floor." I pretended surprise, seeing if I could slip out of this little problem,

"How on Earth did she get there?" He moved closer, and I realized just how _big _he was. Rita slipped behind him and out of the portrait hole before I even realized what she was doing. It was no loss to me; she was nothing but a distraction.

"I think you know, Malfoy. I knew you were a scumbag, but raping a girl, one a year younger than you, is below even you. Or so I thought." Uh, fuck. He's a little close, and _what is_ that bulge in his shirt? "You're lucky I don't kill you here, I know the spell and would be more than happy, believe me. But I ask myself, how does that make me any different than you?" I went to make a smart comment back, but he punched me straight in the jaw, causing pain to radiate out from the point of impact. He pulls out a beater's bat, and I realize that was what was under his shirt.

"What the fuck man?" I eye the bat, wondering where it's going to be used. Maybe on a vase, or a couch, but certainly not on me. Never. Narcissa comes down the stairs just then and looked rather panicked, just as Black smashes my, er, package with the bat. I groan in pain as Narcissa yells,

"Sirius? What are you doing here? Did you just hit him in the balls? OH MY GOD! STOP!" Blow after blow lands, and I begin to feel the world drifting around me, like I wasn't quite attached right to my body. I hear Black snarl at her,

"Do you know what he did to your best friend? Your _sister_. He raped her. He raped Melanie." There was a deadly, loaded silence. Then, "Give me the bat." I forget, like everyone else, that Narcissa isn't a blood Malfoy. She's a Black. She has the pride, the stubbornness and the temper of her cousin, and if I was a smart man, I'd remember that for the future.

"I'm breaking the engagement right now. Go fuck yourself." The back connected with my head, and everything went black. I was floating, more peaceful than I had been in a long time.

Moral of the story: don't fuck with the Blacks. You'll get severely hurt.

**Poor Reggie. :( I felt so bad about this, but it's important to the plot line that he dies so soon. :'(**

**See you guys tomorrow!  
**


	30. New Year's Eve in Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer: comprende?**

**Hi everyone! So this is it, this is the chapter where, well, you'll see. ;)  
**

**Let me know if you think what happens is too abrupt, because I kind of made it like that on purpose, but just give me feedback, guys. :)  
**

**Chapter 30 (Oh, my God, 30 chapters!) is coming on Monday.  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
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**Stars.  
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**P.S. The Christmas gift is revealed. :D  
**

MELANIE POV

And in what felt like seconds, it was New Year's Eve. Everyone was coming back in about eight days, and I couldn't wait to see James, Marley, Alice, Peter, and Moony again. Lily had decided to stay more for Cissy's sake than mine, because it was apparently hard on the psyche being around just Sirius and I for extended amounts of time, due to the lengthy mental conversations we had sometimes.

My bruises were starting to fade, and the memories of that day with them. The one on my face was gone, along with the handprint, which only vanished after Lils had insisted on healing it. My hips were still a little beat up and there were still some scratches on my back.

If Lils and Cissy had been even a little hesitant in their friendship, they weren't anymore. Lils had let her in on the Animagus secret, well, Sirius, Lily and I, had let her in on our parts of the story. She still knew nothing about Moony, or the other's animagi abilities. Now they talked openly and freely like Lils would with Marley or Alice. Or even me on a good day.

I kept the ring hidden from Sirius, even though, the night I found out, I had told him what I knew, and we had gone to Dumbles with the information. He was sad over his brother's death, but he understood and was more proud of him than ever to know he did the right thing in the end.

Cissy had been right, the Purebloods were having problems with runaways this generation. Reg made 5: me, Sirius, Cissy and Reg, and Andromeda, Cissy's sister. I was waiting for Katie to try to run, but I knew deep down that would never happen.

"So, Cissy, we're thinking of making a midnight Hogsmeade run, want to come?" She looked up at her cousin.

"Midnight Hogsmeade run? How on Earth would you manage that?" She was amused and not really serious, used to the rule breaking that went on in this house by now. I pulled on the black beanie (I really love those things) I was wearing and grinned.

"You'll see. Come on, let's go celebrate the New Year somewhere fun." She grinned and got dressed in a black dress, like Lils and I were in. Ideal for looking good and sneaking out, all at the same time! She along with Lils slipped under the cloak and Padfoot and I joined them a moment later as dogs. Together we slipped out to the one-eyed witch passageway and Lils muttered the spell to get it to open. Once in the passageway, we pulled the cloak off and took a leisurely pace. Lily said to Cissy,

"Watch your head, the end's kind of abrupt." Their hands hit the top and they pushed the tile out of the way, because Sirius and I were both still dogs. Once we were in Honeydukes cellar, we put the cloak back and made our way out onto the street, filled with people watching a clock that had been set up for the occasion. We pulled the cloak off and entered the crowd, Sirius and I shifting back. I pulled the beanie I was wearing off, opting to look better, and threw it in Lily's bag gratefully.

It was five minutes until midnight. Five minutes until 1976. All of a sudden, a set of arms grabbed me and I screamed and ran straight at Sirius, for a second terrified about who it might be.

Being the nice person he is, he put an arm around me and pulled me into his side, but rolled his eyes at whoever it was,

"Really James?" No one had been informed about the little, er, mishap as I was opting to tell everyone in person.

I turned to see it was, in fact, James Potter. He grinned but looked embarrassed.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were so jumpy Mel." I smiled and brushed it off. He really _didn't_ know.

"It's all good." Quite suddenly everyone started to chant,

"10!...9!...8!...7!…6!...5!...4!...3!...2!...1!...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" All around us couples started to kiss. James actually kissed Lily and she slapped him, hard across the face and he looked rather unsurprised. It was expected. I turned around to say something, and then I somehow ended up kissing Sirius.

It honest to God knocked the breath right out of me. The boy knew how to kiss, what can I say? That wasn't expected. And I guess the fact that I kissed him right back wasn't either. But, at that point, I just didn't care. Lils actually screamed and I vaguely heard an "Aww!" from Cissy. A flash went off and Lils screamed,

"Got it!" We broke off and he grinned. _I'm pretty sure I've wanted to do that for years, and just didn't know it. _**I'm glad you did.** _Yeah, me too. Will you go on an actual date with me, this time? Maybe one where we don't go as friends? And you don't get beat up by the fan club? _I smiled and answered out loud,

"I'd love to." James hollered,

"It's about damn time!" We laughed and grinned at each other. We headed to the Three Broomsticks and we got Butterbeer, no one wanting to be hungover the next day, and walked back outside, in the snow. Cissy and James were getting to know each other; Lily was walking next to me, talking my ear off about next semester, and I was having a mental conversation with Sirius on the side, as we held hands and walked through the picture-perfect village. All in all? It was perfect.

In this moment, my life was damn good.

SIRIUS POV

I had sometime long ago, subconsciously started to, if not love, then seriously care about Mellie. I don't know what had sparked this whole thing except maybe this whole thing with Lucius.

Strange, I know, but not really surprising. This has shown everyone, myself included, the strength, the beauty, and all the other wonderful things about her. But even her pride was something I liked about her. Her pride that forced her to keep the bruises, and allowed to lift her head and move on with her life so quickly.

She had turned around, laughing, to say something, and before I could stop myself, I had kissed her. She gasped against my mouth, but then she sighed lightly and I grinned inside my head as she kissed me back. I wound my arms around her waist and her hands went to my hair.

What can I say? It's nice hair. I realized she had to stand on her toes to reach my mouth, something that I found ridiculously adorable. I pulled away a little and grinned. It was a nice kiss. Warm and steady, and completely surprised. _I'm pretty sure I've wanted to do that for years, and just didn't know it. _I**'m glad you did**. _Yeah, me too. Will you go on an actual date with me, this time? Maybe one where we don't go as friends? And you don't get beat up by the fan club? _She grinned at little, and I was suddenly nervous. What if she said no?

"I'd love to." She answered, and the nerves disappeared. James shouted at us,

"It's about damn time!" She laughed and leaned into my shoulder. I _do_ love her, and I know I should have been scared as shit, but I couldn't find it within myself to care about what the future held in this moment.

That night, Mel stayed with the girls, insisting that she needed some girly time. James decided to stay the night at Hogwarts and we walked up to our dorm.

He flopped on his bed and grinned at me,

"So. When'd you figure it out, Pads?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've loved her for a long time, you know."

"I know, I know. It incredible, ya know? Three of the Marauders off the market and we're only Sixth Years!"

"Three?"

"Oh, please. We all know Moony and McKinnon are gonna hook up. Later rather than sooner is my bet." He chuckled at that, and sighed,

"You really think she's it? Sirius, that's one girl for a long time." I considered it. I knew what he was saying: it was one girl _in my bed_, for a long time.

"Yeah, I think she might be, Prongs. What about you and Evans?"

"I love her, but I don't think she even knows I exist unless I'm annoying her to death. Speaking of annoying, why do you have a pair of pajamas with Rita Skeeter's face all over them?" I glanced over at the discarded box I had thrown on Moony's bed, a grin forming on my face.

"Christmas gift. Bloody Christmas gift, man." Prongs grins at me,

"Well, let's see, put them on." I laugh and he tosses the box over to me. I pull it open and put the pajamas on. It's a shirt and pants. The pants are a frilly, light, pink color, and the shirt is a heavy flannel and has a silkscreened shot of her face, not her head, but just her face, on the chest. James bursts out laughing and gasps out,

"Go—Oh, my God—haha—go show the—hahahahaha—girls." I roll my eyes and he goes downstairs and I hear him say,

"Introducing Padfoot, wearing his Christmas gift from his one, his only, Rita Skeeter." I hear Mel grumble at him,

"Shut up, James." I walk down the stairs, swaying my hips and batting my eyes and just all around looking like an idiot. They all look at me and Lily bursts out laughing, then Cissy, then Mellie. James is last, determined to make us seem as serious as possible.

I finally make it down the stairs and I see that the girls are all in very little clothing. Evans was in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top, Cissy in an oversized t-shirt, that I suspected belonged to Regulus at one point in time, and a pair of underwear, and Mel was in a pair of my pajama pants and her bra (which was lacy and a dark red). I liked her in my clothes it was a good look for her. She grinned at me,

"That's nice. Really. It's a good look." I winked back at her,

"I can say the same." I winked at her, and she looked down and realized what she was wearing (or lack thereof). She blushed a deep red and I smirked,

"Shut up. I didn't get a pair of Skeeter pajamas for Christmas." I scowled at her, and sat in the armchair next to her. She scooted away, "Oh, no. Don't come near me in that shirt. Or those pants, for that matter. They smell like vanilla brain damage." I grinned,

"Well, if you're sure."

"And I am." I threw the shirt and pants off and was now sitting in my boxers. Evans whistled,

"Damn Taylor, you're one lucky girl." She blushed again and I grinned,

"Glad to see no one under appreciates me." She rolled her eyes, but smiled softly. _See? She appreciates me. _**I appreciate you, so don't even go there.** _Mhm, prove it, Taylor. _**Fine, you loser**._ Okay then._

She smirked and she got up quite suddenly and no one paid her any attention, Cissy listening interestedly to James and Evans' conversation, not yet sick to death of their bickering and snide remarks. Mel grinned and sat down on my lap, her warm and almost completely exposed back pressing into my chest. She was surprisingly light. She put her head on my shoulder, her hair tickling my shoulder. **Under appreciated?** _Touché. Mmmm, this is nice. _She wiggled closer to me and Evans finally decided to look up.

"NO ONE WANTS TO DATE YOU, POTTER! TELL HIM MEL! Mel?" She looked around and grinned when she saw us. Melanie laughed, and I could feel her shaking with laughter,

"Yeah Potter, no one wants to date you…except Lils. She wants the D." Evans shrieked wordlessly and her face turned bright red. I burst out laughing and James chuckled and wiggled his eyebrows at Evans.

MELANIE POV

"Mel, that is probably the cutest thing ever." Lils told me as we flopped down in armchairs in the Common Room. Cissy laid down in front of us, next to the fireplace, which had a slow, burning flame in it. I grinned.

"Shut up Lils."

"When did you realize?" I laughed,

"I don't know. I think I've always…"

"Say it, Mellie, say it. Say the L word." I feel my face getting hot,

"FINE. I think I've always LOVED him, but I don't think I realized that until he kissed me." They giggled. Cissy sat up and grinned deviously,

"You two might just take the 'cutest couple' award." I flipped her off and grinned. Just then, James came down with a grand flourish,

"Introducing Padfoot, wearing his Christmas gift from his one, his only, Rita Skeeter." He pointedly looked at me, and I grinned but muttered,

"Shut up, James." Anyways.

Just then Sirius came down in the illusive pajamas, and we all busted out laughing at it. Lils discreetly poked me in the side and subtly nodded towards Sirius, who was rather intrigued by my chest at the moment. I rolled my eyes, and grinned at him and said (very sarcastically),

"That's nice. Really. It's a good look." He winked at me, looking at my face,

"I can say the same." I realized that I was quite obliviously in just a bra. Oh, well, I guess I can't be to pissed he was staring. I retorted,

"Shut up. I didn't get a pair of Skeeter pajamas for Christmas." He threw himself into an armchair close to me and I wrinkled my nose and shifted away form him, "Oh, no. Don't come near me in that shirt. Or those pants, for that matter. They smell like vanilla brain damage."

"Well, if you're sure." He grinned.

"And I am." So he decided just to take them off and sit there in his festive Quidditch boxers. Boys. Lils was now staring and she dreamily stated,

"Damn Taylor, you're one lucky girl."

"Glad to see no one under appreciates me." He grinned and looked pointedly at me. _See? She appreciates me. _**I appreciate you, so don't even go there.** _Mhm, prove it, Taylor. _**Fine, you loser.**_ Okay then. _I got up, and before I could talk myself out of it, I sat on his lap. It was a surprisingly comfortable position to be in.

**Under appreciated?** _Touché. Mmmm, this is nice. _That's what I thought Black, EAT YOUR WORDS.

"NO ONE WANTS TO DATE YOU, POTTER! TELL HIM MEL! Mel?" Lils screamed. She looked over and smirked, but said nothing about where I was now seated, as James took the chair I had been in.

"Yeah Potter, no one wants to date you…except Lils. She wants the D." Sirius chuckled behind me and James wiggled his eyebrows at her. He too noticed my new position and grinned at Lils deviously,

"Hey Lily-pad—"

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry Lily-flower. But would you like to come sit on my lap, like Mellie and Pads here?" Cissy, Sirius and I were already halfway up the stairs to the boys' dorm by the time the screaming started. We burst into the boys' dorm and I unceremoniously flopped onto Sirius' bed. Cissy delicately sat on the edge of James' bed, and Sirius threw himself onto Moony's bed. We could distantly hear Lily screaming.

"POTTER, DO YOU EVER JUST SHUT UP? PLEASE, JUST BE QUIET! UGH, QUIDDITCH SHOULD BE IMMPOSIBLE FOR YOU TOO PLAY WITH THAT BIG HEAD OF YOURS!" We all looked at each other and burst out laughing. Just then, Sirius said,

"Mel? Is that my family ring around your neck?" Sure enough, hanging down between my breasts was the Black family ring, in plain sight. Fuck.

**Uh-oh. How will Sirius react? Who knows? (Seriously, no one knows, I haven't written it yet).**

**See you guys Monday,  
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**Stars.  
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	31. Author's Note Round 2

**Hey guys, so this isn't a legit chapter (sorry) but I put another one-shot up, and it's called Strong, so go check it out guys, and I'll love you forever and ever and ever. **

**It, unlike this, is rather M for safety and I hope you guys like it.**

**Read, review, and enjoy,**

**Stars.**


	32. His Lily

**Disclaimer: yeah.**

**Happy Monday people! That's a total joke, but at least I updated, right? Okay, so I just want to say right now, that she's really emotionally damaged/vulnerable and there isn't going to be a lot of smut for a while because (as you'll see) poor Melanie freaks out if someone (Sirius) tries to push things, even accidentally.**

**So, BAM CHAPTER 30.  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy  
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**Stars.  
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I shifted uncomfortably,

"Maybe. I doubt it." He got off Moony's bed and came closer,

"No, that's definitely my family ring. Why do you have it?" I looked at Cissy for help, and she shrugged. Real helpful, Cissy. Thanks.

"Safe keeping?" His eyes flashed,

"Mel…" I threw my hands up in the air,

"Fine! It was in the letter Reg left me. He left it to you, but said to keep it safe until you were a little more emotionally stable, after finding out about your brother's untimely death. He said to hold it back for a month. I fully intended to, too." He sighed and sat down next to me on his bed. Cissy stood quite suddenly,

"Mel, I'm going back to the dorm. I'm tired and it's almost 3 in the morning. Should I tell Lils your staying here?"

"That remains to be seen, Cissy." I replied.

"Okay. See you, Sirius."

"Bye cuz." She left, leaving us alone. He sighed, "Why didn't you tell me?" I look at my hands, in my lap.

"I didn't want you to have to deal with the knowledge that you were going to have to deal with your family, so soon after we had finally managed to get away." He ran his hands through his hair.

"I guess I can't be too mad, then. We're going to have to see them soon anyways, you know."

"Uh, since when?"

"I assumed you'd want to go to the funeral. Even if they can't find the body, they'll have a service, and Reg would want you, his best friend, closest confidant, to be there." I hadn't thought about the fact there would be a funeral. But of course there would be.

On one of his more morbid days, Reg had said that he had wanted a spring funeral. He said that he wanted to be buried with the birds singing, the breeze blowing, and the sun shining. He said that he wanted to be buried as the trees grew their new leaves, because even though he was gone, the Earth was being reborn. As his life came to a final, and irreversible end, the world was reawakening from within itself for another year. It had a tragic sort of poetry about it.

"Yeah, I think I do." He kissed my forehead.

"You're so strong, you know that? Don't give me that look, you are. It amazes me, you know. Even though you're just like me, we're so different. You're so much more stronger, more courageous." I snort,

"Please. Don't kid yourself, Sirius. I'm not as great of a person as you think." He smiles at me.

"No, I think you are just as great as I know you are. You forget I see more of you than others do." I sigh. I'm not going to win this argument tonight.

"So you're not mad that I didn't tell you about the ring?" He smiled at me tiredly,

"No, I'm not mad." I smile at him and pull the ribbon over my head, I easily pull out the knot and hand it to him,

"I think this belongs to you." He smiles and puts it on his middle finger on his right hand,

"I won't always wear this, you know. When my parents both die, I'll become head of the House of Black, and I'll take my father's ring, my wife will take my mother's ring, and this is will go to my child."

"A son?" He smiles,

"Or daughter. Which ever comes first." I look at him, confused,

"I thought titles only went to sons."

"Yeah, well, that's a stupid tradition. There's nothing stopping a woman from being the head of a family, nothing but tradition." I shrug.

"I guess that's why my cousin is getting the title when my parents finally die." He raises his eyebrows,

"They're not giving it to Katie?" I shake my head,

"No, it's going to one of my cousin in the States. But you're seriously not mad?" He grins,

"I'm always Sirius, love. But I'm really not mad. Be honored, I'd probably be pissed at anyone else." I grin,

"Even James?"

"Even Prongs. But you get of easy this time, Taylor, mainly because you look cute in my pants. And you don't have a shirt on. Neither of which I particularly enjoy seeing James doing." I feel my face getting hot. I yawn despite myself and it doesn't go by Sirius unnoticed,

"It's late, we should go to bed. You want to stay here tonight, or go gossip some more about me with the girls?" I grin,

"Oh, and who says you don't have a big ego? How do you know we were talking about you? What if we were talking about Skeeter?"

"Skeeter and I walk hand in hand in conversations."

"Fine. But don't tell me I wasn't a topic of discussion with you and James."

"We don't gossip, Mel, we're _men_."

"Oh, please, you two gossip like old women." And before I knew it, I was pinned down under him, my arms over my head, with him sitting on my hips, effectively cutting off any kind of movement, or escape tactics,

"Did you just call me a woman?" I grin cheekily up at him,

"You bet I did, Black. What are you going to do about it?" I realize my kind of compromising situation and how my words could be interpreted too late. He grins down at me,

"This." And then he kisses me deeply. I felt myself sigh not real subtly before I can stop myself, and he moaned softly, something I had never heard from anyone before. It was the sound of complete desire. Then I realized there was a distinct lack of clothing in this situation, but I didn't really care at this point.

Sirius lets my arms go and I wrap them around his back, my nails digging in to the bare skin there, leaving angry red lines on his shoulder blades, there would be noticeable marks on the skin tomorrow, but he didn't seem to care.

His hands touch my back and stomach. Leaving goose bumps where he touches, and start to make their way towards my chest, when I stop cold. It doesn't get past the person still on top of me. He sits up and looks at me, realization slapping on to his face, along with a look of horror.

"Oh, my God, I am so sorry, I completely forgot. Oh, fuck." He quickly gets off the bed and sinks to the floor, beginning to ramble, "Are you okay? Did I scare the living shit out of you? God, I feel horrible. How could forget? I'm going to kill Lucius." I put a hand over his mouth.

"Sirius, shut up. I'm fine, just not so soon, okay? I'm not mad or scared, or anything else you can think of. Just…not right now, okay, love?" I feel him nod under my hand and I take my hand off his mouth.

He says nothing, which kind of scares me. Sirius? Are you okay? _I feel horrible. Horrible I tell you. _Padfoot. Look at me. I left no room for argument in my tone, even my mental one. He turned to look at me, guilt written all over his face. I touch his cheek, leaning partially over the edge of the bed,

"I'm not mad. It's not your fault. It's neither of our faults, so please, please, don't blame yourself. Don't do that to yourself."

"I—I know, can you spend the night with the girls, tonight? I need to talk to Prongs guy to guy, okay?" I nod, gently, kiss his forehead, and leave, knowing he was going to be beating himself up about his all night.

SIRIUS POV

"…What are you going to do about it?" As soon as the words are out of her mouth, her eyes widen, realizing what she said. So do I. She looks really cute, under me, hair everywhere, eyes big, a hint of a grin playing on her lips like always. She always looks like she had just been laughing, or was about ready to smile this huge grin that lights up her whole face. I grin at her mistake and say quietly,

"This." I lean down and kiss her, not particularly lightly or gently, but how I really wanted to, forgetting to be gentle in light of recent events. She sighs deeply into my mouth, and I moan from the back of my throat when she wiggles around under me.

I release her arms to wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her towards me. Her nails dig into my back, the pain felt really, kind of sickeningly, good. I let my hands start to wander, completely forgetting about what had happened a little over a week go. Her back was smooth and soft, and I could feel her goose bumps under my fingers. I move my hands to her stomach, where I feel the muscles clenching in her lower abdomen under the taut skin. I feel my hands start to move up towards her breasts and she freezes. I sit up and look at her, confused. She looks back at me, and I see the momentary flash of panic in her eyes and I remember.

"Oh, my God, I am so sorry, I completely forgot. Oh, fuck." I mutter, horrified at what I had done to her. This girl was raped a week ago, and here I was, trying to feel her up. I get off the bed, and sit on the floor, leaning my back against the side of the bed frame,

"Are you okay? Did I scare the living shit out of you? God, I feel horrible. How could forget? I'm going to kill Lucius." She slaps a hand over my mouth as I began to plunge into a massive self-guilt trip.

"Sirius, shut up. I'm fine, just not so soon, okay? I'm not mad or scared, or anything else you can think of. Just…not right now, okay, love?" I nod under her hand, feeling horrible, but even then I felt my stomach clench at the use of 'love'. I have nothing to say to her, too busy thinking about any kind of long-term damage I might have inflicted onto her. Sirius? Are you okay? _I feel horrible. Horrible I tell you. _Padfoot. Look at me.

She left no room for argument and I looked up at her beautiful eyes. She had never looked better to me then she did now, hair messy, lips swollen, and eyes wide, filled with persuasion, laying over the edge of my bed, she looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her. She touches my face gently, rubbing circles onto my cheekbone with her thumb,

"I'm not mad. It's not your fault. It's neither of our faults, so please, _please_, don't blame yourself. Don't do that to yourself." I was anyways, because that's the kind of person I am, and I knew it, and I'm pretty sure she did too, but I sure as Hell wasn't going to admit it.

"I—I know, can you spend the night with the girls, tonight? I need to talk to Prongs guy to guy, okay?" She nods, and kisses my forehead softly as she gets up. After she closes the door, I sit back on my bed, thinking about all the ways I could fuck her over, unintentionally, if we were going to actually have a real relationship.

Prongs comes in not twenty minutes later, and looks around, confused,

"Where's Mel? I thought she was staying the night here. You two _are_ dating, you know." I say nothing; just continue to stare at the wall opposite where I was sitting on my bed, "Padfoot. What happened? I know you, something's wrong. What is it?"

"I fucked up, Prongs. I really fucked up. Look, you've probably wondered why Lily's here even though she went home on the train with you guys, right?" He nods, "Yeah, well, a couple days after Christmas, well, there was an, er, incident, with Lucius Malfoy and Melanie. I was down on the Pitch, and I wasn't surprised she wasn't in the stands or whatever, because you know how boring the girls find practice, until it had been like twenty minutes, and nothing. So I tried to use the link to find her, and nothing. So I used the Map and found her in an abandoned classroom and Lucius Malfoy walking down the corridor.

I obviously knew something was up, because on Christmas morning he had tried to feel her up in front of me."

"You didn't do anything?"

"Body-bind curse. But anyways, before he left he said like, 'we'll meet again without all the bothersome company' or something creepy like that. So I pretty much run to the classroom and I find her crying, naked, and terrified.

Prongs, I tried to pick her up and she flinched and tried to get away. She wouldn't let me come near her until I swore up and down that I wasn't going to hurt her. So finally I got her to the Common Room and I Flooed to Lily's house and brought her here." James was confused,

"How did you fuck up then? That sounds like you did the right thing."

"I forgot, Prongs. Like we ended up making out and I forgot about that, and Evans told me that girls who have been raped are unstable and usually need a lot of gentleness right after, and for up to like a year after_, but I forgot_. Who does that? She freaked out. It was fine and all that stuff, it was great, but because I'm me, I didn't even think about trying to take her bra off, and she just stopped moving. She froze.

So yeah, I fucked up." James was beside himself,

"HE RAPED HER?" I shush him,

"Shh, I wasn't supposed to tell you, but I needed to talk to you. You're my brother, Prongs."

"I'm going to kill Lucius."

"Don't worry. Why do you think Cissy's with us? I was busy beating him up when she came down her dorm stairs and tried to stop me, until I told her what happened, and she knocked him in the head with my beater's bat. We got her resorted that day, you know." James laughs,

"He got knocked out by his fiancée?"

"Ex-fiancée. She broke it off then and there. Her parents hadn't had the time to get them to the Ministry for the wedding. She had turned 17 the day before. It was rather hilarious." James sighs,

"So you fucked up, huh?" I nod sadly,

"Yeah."

"I don't think so. You were just being you. She told you not to worry, didn't she?" I nod, "Well, I'd take her word for it, if she really tried to talk you out of this guilt-trip that you're obviously on, like if she honestly tried, and wasn't just putting on a show, I'd believe her. She's Melanie, she loves you, Pads, the best thing you can do is remember it for the future. One day you'll be able to be really rough on her physically, but not right now. Just be kind and gentle with anything like that, don't push her _too_ hard, only a little."

"What did you just say?"

"Push her only a little?"

"No before that. Between putting on a show and remembering for the future. What did you say?"

"What? That she loves you? She does, anyone can see it, you just have to be looking. I told you she's your Lily." I grin at him,

"There's one difference Prongs."

"Hm?"

"She can be in the same room as me and not try to kill me." I duck as James throws a pillow at my head, laughing.

**Poor Sirius feels rather bad, doesn't he?**

**Well, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how she feels, won't you? Review it up guys. :)  
**


	33. Head Over Heels

**Disclaimer: yep.**

**Okay, so nobody kill me for the ridiculously short chapter, I kind of ran out of time last night and just used what i had. You guys are in no place to complain seeing as I update 5 days a week. So there.  
**

**It's kind of a filler chapter, so, yeah. Hogwarts gets back in session next chapter, so naturally, shit breaks loose when the fan-club finds out about 'Siri-poo's new girlfriend. Uh-oh. Run, Melanie, run. Not likely, she'll probably just jinx them or something. We'll see tomorrow.  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy  
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**Stars.  
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LILY POV

Melanie comes into our dorm almost an hour after she had run up the stairs with Cissy and Sirius. I glanced up from brushing my teeth to see her come in, hair messy, eyes bright, lips swollen. I rolled my eyes. Sirius just can't keep it in his pants; no matter how emotionally damaged the girl.

"Hey Lils." I wave at her through the bathroom door, and spit out my toothpaste. I walk into our room, and sit on the foot of her bed as she grabs an oversized shirt that had come from God knows where.

"So, you and Sirius really just had sex?" She drops the shirt she was holding and looked at me like I was nuts.

"What made you think that?" I grin at her,

"Messy hair, swollen lips, the whole nine yards." She rolls her eyes,

"No, Fire, we didn't have sex." There was a crease between her eyebrows. That meant in Melanie body language that there was something wrong.

"What happened?" She sighs and sits down, leaning up against her pillows,

"Well, we were sort of maybe making out, and well, I kind of freaked out, only a little, though." I sighed, I had told him to be gentle and try not to get in her pants right away. Did he listen? Of course not, "That wasn't the problem, well, it kind of was, but then he freaked out, and there was a massive self-guilt trip going on and I tried to talk him out of it, but he was having none of it. So, now I'm here, because he wanted to talk to James 'guy to guy'." I sigh and run my hands through my hair as she air-quotes him.

"You have to let him forgive himself, for that Mel. You can't make him. He probably needs to talk to James, because next to you, he's the closest person to him, and he can't exactly talk to you _about you_. You just need to do what makes you comfortable, and if he loves you as much as I suspect he does, he'll understand and wait." She smiles slightly, "So, other than that, how was it?"

She blushes a deep red and I laugh, causing Cissy to stir from her sleep, but only for a minute. Once her breathing deepens and she begins to snore lightly again, she answers,

"Good. I don't know. Can we talk about something else? This is weird."

"Ooooh, Pureblooded rebels are good kissers?" She grins,

"I don't know about all of them, you'll have to take that up with him, too." I smile, but roll my eyes.

"Go to bed, you loser, I'm tired." She grins and crawls into bed, closing the curtains to her four-poster on her way.

MELANIE POV

I feel someone gently shake my shoulder.

"Mel?" I sigh, and still half asleep, I pull whoever it is into bed with me, and they wrap an arm around me and I put my head on their chest. Whoever it was smelled good. Like the forest and rain. I breathed in deep and fell back asleep to the other person humming the tune to "100 Years".

LILY POV

I wake up to sunshine. The curtains are open and are pouring light into my face, because I forgot to close my bed curtains last night. Melanie didn't, that much I remembered, so when one of them was open, I couldn't help but go and take a peek.

It seemed that Sirius had decided to come stay the night with us sometime last night, and was now lying in bed with her. He was on his back, and she was lying on top of him, her face in his chest, on her stomach. He has both of his arms around her waist, and her hands are around his neck. Both are dead asleep and both are smiling gently. It was sweet, something I wouldn't have associated with the notorious man-whore Sirius Black or the hothead, generally crazy, Melanie Taylor.

I smile to myself. I really shouldn't be surprised though, they care more about each other than anything that I could think of, themselves included. I smile to myself and scream rather loudly,

"BOO!" They both jolt awake, and she squishes closer to him. He pulls her closer and he sees me and rolls his eyes. She turns and looks at me, frowning.

"Really Lils?" I nod and cheerily say,

"Yep. Get out Black. I want to shower." He sighs and pulls his shirtless self out of her bed, and when he turns to leave I can see a set of red scratches down his back. I did a quick count and got eight, or four on each shoulder blade. Like someone had dug her nails into his back. "Really Mel?" She looks up at me and I gesture to his back. She blushes bright red and I laugh as Sirius closes the door behind himself, unaware that he has violent scratches down his back.

Melanie throws herself on my bed, smiling goofily. I grin at her,

"That head over heels, huh?" She flicks me off and heads into the bathroom to take a shower.

I sigh and walk down to the Common Room, where I find Cissy and Sirius talking quietly. I sit down next to Cissy and look straight at Sirius,

"Break her heart, I'll rip your balls off."

"What is it with you girls and threatening to rip balls off? You're the second one!" I laugh and high-five Cissy, victoriously.

**Yup. See you guys tomorrow.**


	34. The Bang List

**Disclaimer: So, yeah.**

**Hi guys! So, today is the day they go back to classes, even though in this chapter we only make it down to breakfast. I'm going to go pretty much through this entire day, class by class, and then after that, I'll skip around, time wise, and stuff like that.**

**Why am I doing all of their first day back? Well, no one but their friends know about Sirius' and Melanie's relationship, so, yeah, there's a lot of disbelieving people in this chapter, and some not so nice things said about our favorite brunette. **

**See you guys tomorrow!  
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**Read, Review, and Enjoy,  
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**Stars.  
**

MELANIE POV

"Marley have you seen my pumps?"

"Check under my bed!" I look under her bed as I yank my skirt up. Ah, yes, it's that time again: the day we go back to classes. The rest of the school had just gotten back last night, and everyone (that mattered) was filled in on my, er, accident and the new relationship (maybe) with Sirius.

"Mel, where's my eyeliner?" I look on Lily's vanity,

"On Lils' vanity Al!"

"LILY! Did you take my eyeliner?"

"I WOULD NEVER!" I chuckled and paused to look at myself in the mirror. My hair was straight, and thanks to some remarkable healing on my part, I was completely healed up from Christmas Break. I had on a full face of make-up and had just finished putting lipstick on.

My school skirt was about four inches above my knees (not regulation, wayyyy to short), my shirt was untucked and the sleeves rolled to my elbows. The top three buttons were undone and my tie was loosely hanging down, kind of lopsided from my neck (none of which was allowed. Sorry Minnie). I had put the previously mentioned black (four inch) pumps on my feet and collected my bag.

Lily came out of the bathroom, not quite dress code either. She had her shirt tucked in properly and her tie was snug, but her skirt was just short enough to draw attention. She groaned,

"Good God, are you ever going to dress like you should?" I laughed,

"Not likely Lilykins."

"Don't call me that, you sound like James."

"What was that? Not Potter, but _James_? Friendly are we?" She scowls but says nothing, just stalks off to go torment someone else. I laugh at her, and call out, "Anyone ready? I want to go get food!" There's a chorus of 'no's and I roll my eyes and shout back, "I'm going to walk down with the boys!" There was another chorus of 'okay!' and I close the door, my bag bouncing on one of my shoulders as I head down stairs. I walk into the Common Room to see Sirius and James messing around on one of the sofas.

They are dressed the same. Both in black slacks, untucked, shirts with the sleeves rolled up and loose ties, Minnie better watch out for the Marauders this year.

They both look up when I walk in and Sirius grins as James rolls his eyes at him.

Oh yeah, that's something else. No one knows that Sirius and I are technically going out, except our group of friends. Which means the fan club doesn't know. Yet, the fan club doesn't know _yet_. Nothing can ever stay quiet in this school, even if it's something you'd rather people not know. Not that I have a problem with people knowing that we're going out, I don't. And neither does Sirius, he just fears for my mental and physical wellbeing once Skeeter _does_ find out, which she inevitably will, along with the rest of psychos.

But, anyways, Sirius grins and James rolls his eyes. Sirius also runs right up to me and kisses me full on the mouth. I swear to whoever is up there you could hear a pin drop. 5 miles away. Literally every single person in the room stops what they're doing and stares. Like a lot.

I didn't really care and kissed him back, and he obviously had no reservations either. James loudly cleared his throat as we broke off,

"Well, everybody, show's over, go back to your knitting. OI! I SAID MOVE ALONG DIDN'T I?" Everyone scrambled off to avoid the wrath of James Charlus Potter. Sirius winks at me and I grin back. **Oh, James.** _What would we do without him? _**Our lives would be a whole lot more peaceful, that's for sure.** He chuckles and people glance at him laughing at nothing. We walk towards the portrait hole and easily climb out into the corridor.

Sirius easily wraps my hand in his and we lazily walked down to the Great Hall, laughing at the chaotic stories he'd ask to hear about getting ready in the girls' dorm that morning. We reach the doors that lead into the mass of the student population and I hesitate. _You ready? There's going to be a lot of staring. And some not-so-nice comments. _**Yeah, if I can deal with my parents, I can deal with Rita Skeeter**. He nods, and hand in hand we walk into the Great Hall.

About three quarters of the school, including all of the teachers, were there. A couple people glanced up as we walked in, but then did a quick double take at our hands. They then poked the person next to them, and soon every single person was staring. The girls were glaring hard at me, and I was doing my best to not listen to the whispers. Too bad they weren't only bitches, but loud bitches.

"_He'd date _her_?"_ Ouch.

"_Oh, God she's beautiful."_ Well, thank you girl I don't know.

"_She's had a boob job."_ I have not! I'm just, um, well endowed, thank you very much!

"_Of course Sirius Black falls for his best friend."_ Eh, facts.

"_What kind of love potion do you think she used?"_ Really?

"_How long do you think it'll last? I'm betting less than two weeks."_ Oh, the confidence is astounding.

"_Maybe if we cut her hair off…"_ Don't you dare Jane Early!

"_No, she's too pretty, even bald."_ Well, that's kind of flattering. Maybe.

"_Damn Black takes all the good ones. I'd hit that." _EXCUSE ME?

We reached out seats and I quietly sat down next to Sirius, who put an arm around me. _I heard that last one. _**Who was it?** _My charming Quidditch captain. _**Wha—Thomas? As in Thomas Wood?** _The very one._ **Nuh-uh.** _Uh-huh._ **Fine. I believe you, you loser.** _Aw, thanks love, your confidence in my truth telling abilities is astounding._ Before I could make a witty comeback, Lily and Cissy sat down next to me, both wearing rather large grins.

"The looks you two are getting: priceless."

"Shut it, cuz. We're in the middle of a spat." Lily raised an eyebrow,

"Already?" I answered her before he could,

"He says that Thomas Wood wants to and I quote 'hit that'. And by that, I mean me. Tell him he's nuts." They look at each other. Uh-oh. Lily answers uncomfortably,

"Sweetie, I'm going to be as nice as possible when I say this, but, you need to hear it.

You're beautiful, like really super, attention-drawing beautiful. Every boy in this school wants to 'hit that'. Thomas is just more out-spoken than others. Mainly because Sirius hasn't scared him off, like everyone else in this school, due to the fact that beater muscles don't scare him, because he is one." I raised an eyebrow, and look accusingly at Sirius, he put his hands up in defense.

"Hey, before you get pissed, you didn't hear what they were saying. I'd walk into the guys' bathroom and find the most fuckable list. Do you know you were always one? Every time I found one after third year, you were one, Evans was two and Marlene was three. Cissy, I think you were six or seven I didn't really pay attention at the time. Best ass? You. Best rack? Also you.

Mel, I'd hear all kinds of things, and it was disgusting, and believe me, if James hadn't heard some seventh year talking about dragging one of you into a broom closet a couple years ago, someone would have beaten Lucius to the punch. I'm not kidding." I sigh and put my head in my hands.

I say nothing when I'm thinking. Lily on the other hand, doesn't shut up when she has something on her mind,

"Oh my God that's disgusting! A most fuckable list? Ugh, please spare me the details." I glance up at her,

"I don't know what you're all up in arms about, Fire, we have a bang list." She blushes bright red and I continue my stare with the table. Sirius smirks,

"Where am I on the bang list?" I stick up a finger. He grins, "One? Aww, yeah." Cissy groans,

"Ugh, why did you tell him? Now he's going to be unbearable. Yes, Sirius, all the girls who aren't related to you want in your pants if they haven't made the journey already." He grins. This was never going to go away.

SIRIUS POV

I rolled out of bed and was still asleep after I'd gotten dressed and had finally gone down stairs. I was messing around with James on the sofa, after I'd mocked his 'Lily-flower' when Melanie came down stairs. I could vaguely hear the screaming coming from the girls' dorm that was signature of girls trying to get ready in an enclosed space.

I glanced up when she came down stairs and smiled at her. She looked like she had slept in her uniform, which I knew she hadn't. Her shirt wasn't wrinkled (that and I had slept in her bed). But her tie was loose, the top buttons of her shirt undone, revealing a nice amount of cleavage and her skirt was short enough to give me a lovely view of her legs, which looked rather spectacular thanks to the heels. James rolled his eyes at me, and I pointedly ignored him.

I saw Thomas Wood check out her ass and I did the first thing I could think of: I walked right over to her, and kissed her. Hard. She gasped lightly, like she always did, I don't even think she notices it happens when someone kisses her. She kissed me back vigorously, and I smirked to myself.

James shouted at everyone to get back to what they were doing and we were off.

We were walking to the table when I heard Thomas, and I know she did too, because I felt the annoyance flicker just slightly, and I could guess what it was.

I seriously hadn't meant to tell her about the fuckable list. Or the fact that whenever people came around for a tally, I usually voted for her. What? Who said that? I don't know, and she isn't ever going to know about that. Ever. And I mean ever.

"I don't know what you're all up in arms about, Fire, we have a bang list." Lily blushes bright red. I couldn't help but ask Mel,

"Where am I on the bang list?" She puts up a lone finger. I grin, "One? Aww, yeah." Cissy groans,

"Ugh, why did you tell him? Now he's going to be unbearable. Yes, Sirius, all the girls who aren't related to you want in your pants if they haven't made the journey already." I roll my eyes and flip her off.


	35. Fear Walks Hand in Hand With Love

**Disclaimer: yep.**

**HI! So this is kind of a sweet chapter, but also kind of like, it's not sad or upsetting, but not really disturbing either. Well, you'll see.  
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**Update tomorrow, than next time we'll meet is Monday, because I don't update on weekends! YAY WEEKENDS! Actually I love updating this. School? Don't love it as much.  
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**Read, Review, and Enjoy,  
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**Stars  
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JAMES POV

Now call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that there was death plans on Melanie and Sirius by the end of the day. I had heard at least six guys complaining that 'Black was going smash that before me' and several girls talking about setting Mel on fire.

The good part of my best friends' new relationship was that thanks to Marlene's tendency to be a man eater, Alice's love of Frank Longbottom, Remus' love of books and new found fondness of Narcissa (he was even considering on letting her in on his furry little condition), and Peter's love of food, it was just me and Lily at lunch that weren't sucking face, food, or information out of a book.

I love her. I love her so, so much. She's everything that I want. She's so alive and in this dying world, I wanted someone like her to be the woman I spend the rest of my life with. She was beautiful, kind, and funny. She was witty, snarky and brainy. She was everything good in the world, and the bad things were good on her. Her sarcastic comebacks were what made her funny; her massive, rather annoying, brain is what made her kind, so willing to help others.

I was trailing behind Pads and Mel, absently watching them holding-hands. We're all walking to DADA. He twirls her around and she laughs then twirls him around, much to the amusement of passing kids of Third Year and younger. He drops her hand and puts his arm around her waist, tightly and protective of the girl that was his world. She lets him, and he says something she shakes her head no to. He seems to repeats himself, and she hands him her bag, which she has slung over one of her shoulders. He places it over his shoulder and Padfoot glances back at me and winks.

Lily falls into step with me,

"They really are meant for each other, aren't they?" I nod,

"Do you believe in soul mates?" She looks at me, surprised,

"Yeah, I do, Potter. I think there is a person out there perfect for each one of us. I don't know about soul mates exactly, but there is someone for us. Someone who will bring the best out of us." I say nothing to her, but think over what she said. Was there only one person for each of us?

"Hey Lils! Did you grab my DADA textbook?" Lily stops and waits for Marlene to catch up to her and allows her to look through her bag. Marley extracts her book and whispers something to her. Lily blushes and Marlene pokes her with a cheesy wink. I fall back and talk with Moony as Cissy runs up to talk to the other two girls. Melanie and Sirius vanish into the classroom, then the girls vanish, and then Moony and I walk in, Peter trailing behind us.

I glance over at Mel and Sirius, and both look rather pale. I look at the room, and it's set up for a practical lesson that I recognize immediately.

Boggarts. Lily sighs and Moony looks rather upset, shooting anxious looks at Melanie and Sirius.

Our professor, Professor Leon, was standing next to a trunk sat up on its end. He cleared his throat, calling the class to order, just as Alice walks in the room. We all looked up and he spoke,

"So, I know you all did Boggarts back in third year, but there is a very real reason why we are doing this. If you're going to fight against the Dark forces that are rising, you need to know what your fears are. To defeat them, you have to know yourself, and how to defeat yourself." Everyone in the room nodded, "Who wants to go first?" No one's hand went up, "Hmm, no one? Mr. Black, why don't you?" Pads looked alarmed and took a step back. Melanie spoke up,

"Sir? I don't think that's really a good idea…"

"Quiet, Taylor. Black, get up here." Melanie squeezed his hand and gave him an encouraging smile, trying to get the panic attack I can see is coming on, to stop. Sirius shakily walks towards the front of the class, all eyes on him. He drew his wand and took a deep breath before the Professor opened the trunk.

One person walked out, and I was confused. It was Melanie, obviously identifiable, even all the way across a dark room. But the closer she got, the more I could see her and why it was his fear. Melanie was in a short-sleeved dress that looked like it had been made for royals. It was the clothes Purebloods wore.

It wasn't her though. Her eyes were cold, her face set, scowling. That wasn't the worst part: On her left arm, was the Dark Mark, black and stark against the skin of the woman. She came even closer and I could see that Melanie wore a wedding band and the ring of the Lady of the House of Black. They were married. She had married Sirius. And I had a sneaking suspicion that she hadn't decided to all on her own, seeing as she looked maybe a year older than she was now.

The Boggart Melanie looked at our Pads with hate. He took a step back in fear, and horror.

"It's your fault! All of this. Your brother: _dead_. My sister: _dead_. This God-awful bonding is you fault! How could you?" She started to cry, "_How could you_?" She falls to her knees; the entire class was watching the Boggart Melanie in horror, including Mel and poor Pads.

She sobs at poor Sirius' feet and he doesn't move, he just stands there, watching her. She looks up at him, her eyes streaming tears, and I can almost see him breaking up inside. Our Mel goes to interfere, but the Professor grabs her and keeps her back. She pushes him off and runs forward, unable to take it anymore. She takes a deep breath and stand between Sirius and herself. Boggart Melanie looks up at her and all of a sudden, she becomes the boy she had just been tormenting.

Boggart Sirius is bleeding severely out of his stomach, staining the white shirt he was wearing. I knew what she was seeing: if the night they had runaway, if he had turned to fight Walburga Black instead of her. If he had been almost killed instead of her. He looked at her and fell over, obviously dead.

She backs up quickly her hand over her mouth her eyes wide, shaking her head, like if she denied it enough it would disappear. She stumbles and falls, but continues to move backwards, as far as possible, hiding from the fear.

It was an instinct from a lifetime of fear and torment at home.

Lily and I ignored the professor trying to keep other students from interfering and took them out of the room, both of them shaking.

It was remarkable, if you thought about it. Their biggest fear wasn't death, or something stupid like spiders, but losing each other. Because either way, they lose each other, and by extension themselves.

Once they were out in the hall, they both seemed to realize that neither of them was dead, or a Death Eater. Lily was trying to calm Mel down and I was making a valiant attempt to get Pads to stop crying.

"Padfoot, it's okay, it's okay. We're all okay." He muttered something about Death Eaters and his mother and continued to cry. I could hear distinctly more feminine sobs coming from down the hall. I grabbed Sirius under his elbow and dragged him down the hall to where Melanie was sitting against the wall, crying to Lily. I pulled Padfoot over to her, sat him down next to her, and pulled Lily away, back into the classroom to tell Professor Leon just what I thought about him.

Lily got there first. Her face was as bright as her hair by the time she was face to face with him. He raised an eyebrow,

"Yes, Evans? Is there anything I can help you with?" She began to scream.

"They told you that you should let it go. They TOLD you! Did you listen? Of course not! I have never met someone who was so out of touch with his or her students, EVER. I can't believe Dumbledore hired such a dick. Disgusting. Oh, and I'll walk myself to Dumbledore's office." With that, Lily Evans stalked out of the room, more than likely not regretting her decision in the least.

MELANIE POV

I was terrified. Even as I sat out in the corridor, I could still see Sirius dying, looking at me, dying because of me. Lily repeated told me that Sirius was very much alive, but I didn't really believe her. There was shuffling around above where I was sitting my face buried in my hands, and someone sat down next to me. I glance up to find a very healthy Sirius sitting next to me. We both stop crying for a moment and stare at each other. I wordlessly crawled into his lap and he wrapped his arms around me. We said nothing. Neither of us cried, or spoke, or sighed, or used the link. We just breathed. Sirius smelled like the forest. The forest and spring rain.

Before class was dismissed, we got up and walked hand-in-hand out onto the grounds, and sat under the willow tree, in about 6 inches of snow. Sirius gave me the jacket he hadn't bothered to take off in class and I melted part of the snow, where we sat. I in his lap, his arms around me, and his chin resting on the top of my head.

This was peace. This was home for me.


	36. Don't Catch Your Death

**Disclaimer: yeahhh.**

**Okay so HI! So nobody be mad because this is so short, I ran out of time and even considered not posting today. but i DID promise so here you go. :)  
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**No update until Monday, so have a great weekend everybody!  
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**Read, Review, and Enjoy,  
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**Stars.  
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MINERVA POV **(A.N. Aww Yeah.)**

I was teaching a group of Fifth Years when I heard the whispers that Taylor and Black were dating. Well, at least it's not their O.W.L. year or their N.E.W.T. year. Sixth Year was a good year to date. There were some rather unflattering things said about the two mischief-makers, and judging by girls' reactions, they were most unhappy young Mr. Black was 'off the market' as they say. There was about twenty minutes of class left when I saw the very teenagers in question walk by my room. They should be in Defense. I do hate taking points off my own house, but rules are rules.

I was like her once: rash, bold, and so in love. I knew what happened to girls like her. The world broke them. It broke us. Because as open as girls like her are, the very Earth itself will eventually close you off from the people around you. I sighed,

"Leave your seats and the next place you'll be sitting is on the Hogwarts Express on your way back to London, tonight." I swept out of the room, quite certain that no one was going to move in my absence. I followed the hand holding couple out to the lake, shivering in my robes.

They clear off a spot under the Willow tree and sit, she in his lap. He wraps his jacket around her, and rests his chin on her head. I sigh, hating to torment these poor children even more. Albus had told me what he had seen at her hearing and I had a very hard time accepting it.

It was almost impossible to associate the students I saw at school, so alive, carefree, cheeky, so unafraid with being terrified of the very people who were supposed to take care of them. I didn't believe the snide comments that they made to each other about family until the day I had heard the encounter in the Hospital Wing. I had been sitting in my office, filling out another of James Potter's detention forms, when the door banged open to reveal Jasmine, Andrew, and Hecate Taylor.

Her parents had stormed angrily around my office, and I kindly asked them to remove themselves from the premises.

I walked towards them now, and neither one of them look surprised to see me. I'm surprised though. There are tear tracks on her face that she hadn't bothered to wipe away, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Black, Taylor, is there something wrong?" She answers airily, completely unlike the sad and scared voice I expected to hear.

"Oh, you know Minnie, just a bad run in with a Boggart in D.A.D.A." I frown,

"Don't call me Minnie."

"Not a chance Minnie." Black smirks at her brisk reply. She hadn't always been this much trouble, I blame him. She had been an angel for the first semester of her First Year, and then she had become fast friends with Sirius Black, they were obviously close before, but they had become joined at the hip.

"Do you want me to take points off?" She shrugs and Black hugs her. She shivers and she shakes her head, looking at him like he was certifiably insane. I had just missed something.

Imagine a conversation, but in complete silence. There were all of the facial expressions and minute hand movements, but neither of them said a word, "Get back inside before you two catch your deaths' out here." Melanie seems to find this quite hilarious and grabs Black's hand,

"Yeah, come one Padfoot, we don't want to catch our death's out here." He chuckles and they run up to the castle, leaving me under the Willow tree, confused as to what it was I just saw.

Maybe Albus will know something about their little exchange.

I want to know why it is they can hear each other's thought when they should only be concerned with their own.

**Uh-oh, is Minnie going to figure out their secret? Will Dumbles know what is going on? Will these two EVER have a normal relationship?**

**Wellll, maybe, maybe, and OF COURSE NOT! Where's the fun in that? :P  
**

**See you Monday!  
**


	37. A Forced March

**Disclaimer: the usual.  
**

**So, please, please, PLEASE forgive the ridiculously short chapter, the next one is one of my favorites so far and I really just wanted to set it up for that. Yeah, so this one's just kind of a filler. but enjoy it because not much is ever really quiet in these kids' lives for too long.  
**

**See you guys tomorrow!  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

MELANIE POV

I woke up screaming. I looked around and realized I was in my dorm, quite alone in my bed. Lily had jolted awake at my yells and blearily gets up, grabbing me by the elbow and dragging me down from the dorms.

She marches me up another flight of stairs, and I have no idea where we're going, I can't see for shit. She opens a door, throws me through it, and slams it shut behind me. Someone lights a candle and I shield my eyes. I recognize the boys' dorm and roll my eyes,

"Mel? What are you doing here?" I look at James, being the only person awake, and also the person who lit the candle.

"Nightmare. Lils decided she was just going to put me on a forced march up here, without telling me where I'm going." James gets a goofy grin on his face and I laugh.

"Ah, Lily-flower, she is the sun in my eternal night." I snort.

"Yeah, I got the point, Prongs. You love her." He mockingly frowns at me,

"Well, if you're tired of hearing me exult the virtues of my Lily." He threw a pillow at the bed next to his, and rather colorful swearing came flying out from behind the curtains.

"JAMES! Someone better be fucking dying." James grins at me then says,

"Your girlfriend had a nightmare. She's right here" Sirius' head pokes out from his bed curtains and looks at me, concerned, a complete change of demeanor and character.

"Are you okay? Come here." I quickly walk across their room and slip behind the curtains, hiding me from view. Sirius grabs his wand from under his pillow (don't ask) and silences the bed. I sit next to him, under the covers, our shoulders touching, leaning up against the pillows, "What did you see?" I sigh and rest my head on his shoulder.

"The usual. Reg's body, you hurt. Lily and James dead. Marlene is crazy, she sings this little children's rhyme. It's all she does, it's all I can hear. Cissy is married to Lucius, and I'm trapped in the basement, he comes down an—and…" I trail off and Sirius grabs me and hugs me tightly, dragging me on top of him.

"He will never touch you as long as I'm alive, that much I promise to you, love." I nod, and he whispers into my hair, "It's okay to cry." I nod again, and let the tears start to slip out.

They fall faster and faster until they are streaming, and there isn't a break between each new tear. Sirius lies down under me, and gently places me on top of him, my head on his chest. We lay in silence and I start to drift off a couple times, but I force myself to stay awake, scared of what I'll see, "Are you still awake?" I whisper back,

"Yeah."

"Scared of the dreams?"

"…Yeah."

"Mrs. P she, er, this is kind of embarrassing so don't laugh, but she used to sing this song to me when I just moved in with them, when I had a really hard time sleeping." I nod, "You wanna hear it?"

"Sure." Sirius dramatically clears his throat and softly sings,

"_I remember tears streaming down your face_

_When I said, I'll never let you go_

_When all those shadows almost killed your light_

_I remember you said, _

_Don't leave me here alone_

_But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight__  
__Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be alright,_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound__  
__Don't you dare look out your window darling_

_Everything's on fire_

_The war outside our door keeps raging on_

_Hold onto this lullaby_

_Even when the music's gone__  
__Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be alright__,_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound__  
__Just close your eyes_

_You'll be alright_

_Come morning light,_

_You and I'll be safe and sound..." _I was asleep by the time the last word left his mouth. I didn't move or stir once, and I slept the best I had in a very, very long time.

**For those of you who live under rocks and haven't heard the song, it's Taylor Swift's 'Safe and Sound'. Yes, it's from the Hunger Games, but it fit, so if you don't like it too damn bad.  
**

**Oh, and no copyright infringement intended.  
**

**:)  
**


	38. What the Future Holds

**Disclaimer: the usual.**

**HI! So i just want to stay that this is one of my favorite chapters so far in this fic, and I kind of can't wait for them to get out of school so I can write like this all the time, you know, with less Hogwarts (as much as I love the place, I really want to write about the war).  
**

**This one can be kind of confusing of you don't remember that this chapter is Sirius seeing Melanie's dream through her eyes, which is making it difficult for him to differentiate between her and himself (so there is a lot of pronoun mix ups, where he accidentally calls her 'I' and stuff like that), he's kind of trapped inside of her, still aware of the fact he's not her, just kind of along for the ride.  
**

**She also has a dream in the dream (it's dreamception). It's explained later, but I really liked this one, and PM me or review with any questions, and I'd be more than happy to clear them up.**

**See you tomorrow!**

**Read, Review, and Enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

SIRIUS POV

It takes me almost an hour after Melanie is asleep to drift off myself. When I do, I see her nightmare, and worst of all, I feel her. Here, I am her.

I'm in the Spell Damage ward of St. Mungo's. Marlene is in a hospital bed, with four point restraints. A nurse comes in as I enter to let her up, when she does Marley looks me straight in the eye, and true to form, sings in a soft, light voice, like a child's nursery rhyme,

"_Don't ever laugh as a hearse goes by  
For you may be the next to die.  
They wrap you up in a big white sheet  
From your head down to your feet.  
They put you in a big black box  
And cover you up with dirt and rocks.  
All goes well for about a week  
Then your coffin starts to leak.  
The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,  
The worms play pinochle in your snout.  
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,  
They eat the jelly between your toes.  
A big green worm with rolling eyes  
Crawls in your stomach and out your eyes  
Your stomach turns a slimy green  
And pus pours out like whipping cream.  
You spread it on a slice of bread,  
And that's what you eat when you are dead._

_Don't ever laugh as a hearse goes by…"_ All of a sudden I was in a basement, staring at a door. The door opened to reveal Cissy. She rushed over to me and whispers,

"Oh, Mellie, what happened to you? You were so strong, so resilient, but how? How did he break you?" I say nothing. I try to, but then I realize I'm not in control here. I was just along for the ride. Cissy sighs and begins to fix my wounds. Well, Melanie's wounds. I reach around in her, uh, my head and try to hear what she's thinking.

There's nothing. For a long time a search, and for such a long time that I assume she must be blocking her thoughts, there is nothing but empty. Slowly but surely she falls asleep, and I dig hard, and all of a sudden, I hear a man screaming. I realize it's me. Her dreams (in the dream) start to take me over. I see myself sitting across from me over breakfast, the sun shining, the birds chirping, I could tell she was in love here. I smirk at myself (that sounds so messed up) playfully across the table, and then something explodes. Both of our heads snap up and I scream at her,

"Go! Run! Go get Prongs and Lils! Go, Melanie!" She shakes her head back at me,

"You're a moron if you think I'm leaving you." He shoves her towards the kitchen door,

"Then I'm really big moron, because you're going to do exactly as I say." I, er, he, looks at her, "I love you, there's no way we can win this if I'm spending all my time being worried. I know you can take care of yourself, but just this once, let me do it for you." She hesitates but nods, and runs to the back door, taking nothing but her wand with her.

She slams right into a person on her way out, and for a wild moment hopes it's James or Remus, here to help. She realizes it's Lucius Malfoy and takes a step back, trying to draw her wand out from her pocket. But he grabs her and someone seizes her wand from her left hand. She slaps whoever it is with her right hand, her free one, hard. Lucius grabs her by the hair, and I fell the pain in my scalp. Her terror is slowly becoming my own. He whispers in my, her, ear,

"You're a fool to think you could leave this life and get away unscratched." Her entire body begins to shake, terrified, he grabs her left hand and I notice she's wearing a ring I had seen all my life: my mother's. We were married. "Ah, yes, I hear you're Mrs. Black now? Ah, young love in a time like this? How foolish. Yes, well, luckily for you _Black_, you get to watch your husband die." She freezes, and by extension, so do I.

I hear myself scream from another room, and she starts to fight to try to escape. So unlike when Cissy had come down to fix her wounds. I realize what I was seeing, in her dream, this is what broke her. These were her greatest fears all wrapped into one. Lucius drags her into a room, and I see Bellatrix standing over dream me. I'm on the ground, in a loose fetal position. She knew instinctually what had just happened: the Cruciatus Curse. Bellatrix pulls me up by my hair, but I don't really think I was in the mood to cooperate, as I claw my hand down her face, leaving wounds that begin to ooze blood. Bella smiles sickly and sing-songs, as I try to kill her by choking her to death,

"Oh, time for the next one." Lucius shoves her at Bellatrix and she tackles her to the floor, pulling out a knife. I see myself being held down my Lucius and he was leaving no option but for me to watch my wife's torturing. She feels panic, but not for herself, but for her husband, who was surely going to die because of her. I hiss at Bellatrix,

"Let her go, cousin. She knows nothing of the Potter's location. She's not the secret keeper. She doesn't even know who it is." I see Bellatrix's eyes light up,

"She doesn't? Well, then Sirius dear, who does?" Bellatrix has her hand clamped on Melanie's mouth, but her hand slides a little as she goes to look at dream me,

"Don't you dare tell them, Sirius." Bellatrix pulls her up, knife at her throat,

"Tell me or she dies." I feel her shake her head at me, begging me to shut up. I say nothing. Bella grins, "I was so hoping you were in a stoic mood today. Avery, come hold her down." Another man comes forward and holds her down, back on the floor. Bellatrix leans down over her arm, and I know what going to happen before it does, all too familiar with my cousin's sick ways.

She sticks her knife into the soft skin of her forearm, and she begins to scream. She screams, and cries, and tries to get away, but not once does she ask Bellatrix to stop. Not once does she beg for the pain to end. Bellatrix finishes and looks at me,

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me cousin? I could continue writing down your wife's virtues if not. Hm? No? Well, then…" She leans down, just as the wall across the room caves in from being blown in when the Death Eaters had made their appearance. Her head snaps up, and Melanie manages to scramble away, and I pick her up and place her behind me. Lucius had been caught under the rubble and was unconscious. I look at me, um, her, and whisper,

"Go. Get to Lily. She can fix you. Go." She scrambles up and tries to run away, but Lucius has come around and grabs her smiling,

"Ah, Black, where you're going, you're not going to be needing female company this beautiful. Why don't I watch her for you?" She sees Bellatrix hit me with the Cruciatus Curse, and she has been dragged away by side-along apparation, into the Malfoy's basement.

She realizes that she was completely alone with him and slaps him as he rips her shirt off. She does as much damage as she can do as he pulls her clothes off, but he hurts her back so much worse, I just wish she would stop fighting, just to keep her safe and in one piece.

It happens all the time, and soon, she stops fighting, just lets him come down and do what he wants.

Then one day, he comes down and speaks,

"Why haven't you tried to kill yourself? I knew you in school, five years ago you would have tried to end your life to stop me from getting all this pleasure from this. What is it?" She says nothing, just meets his gaze, "You can't really think he's going to save you. You have to realize he doesn't care anymore. Why should he? You're _damaged goods_." With that, he left, and I was kicked awake, presumably at the same point she had woken awake at.

I looked down at the now peacefully sleeping girl, with a sinking suspicion that Melanie had more Seers' blood in her than she thought.

I looked at the soft, unblemished skin on her left forearm, where I knew, no more than five years from now, my cousin would carve the word _traitor _into her as I watched, as her tortured and crying husband.

I slid into an uneasy rest, Melanie, in mind and body, intertwined with me.

**Dun DUN DUNN. So, the children's rhyme at the beginning, I found online, I have no idea what it's called, just that it's really creepy. So, sorry if anyone was confused, the time frame was right before Peter gave them up, so Voldy still thinks that Sirius might be Secret-Keeper, so yeah. See you tomorrow.**

**Stars.  
**


	39. Dumbley Encounters Part 1

**Disclaimer: Yep.**

**HI! So I know I may or may not have told some of you that this was going to be her birthday chapter, so sorry that I was lying, it was unintentional. :)  
**

**So, while this one is a chapter (the first date. YAY), it's also kind of setting up for next chapter, which really explains the link. I kind of made the whole thing up as I went, but I went back like a million times, making it as consistent as possible.  
**

**ANYWAYS, I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

MELANIE POV

Days slipped by, and eventually, it was a Hogsmeade weekend. My first official date with Sirius. It seemed kind of ridiculous to be going on 'our first date' after all the stuff we had been put through (by ourselves and others alike) in the two weeks we had been dating. I woke up earlier than I normally did, purely out of nerves.

Lily was up right after me, along with the other girls, which made no sense seeing as I was the only one with a date, but they all said they wanted to help me get ready for the first date with my 'future husband'. Oh, Lily.

Anyways, I took a long, hot shower, and got out wrapped in a towel. Once we were all showered and getting ready in earnest, someone turned on the music, and we all started shouting (well, minus Cissy, who didn't know the song, thanks to her parents) the lyrics,

"…I believe the whole world should revolve around me!" we all screamed and laughed as we were digging through our own, and each other's, trunks and possessions.

Everyone got ready much quicker than I did, seeing as they were just going with friends. Marlene dug through my trunk looking for an outfit, Lily was messing with my hair, Alice was looking for accessories to match the outfit Marlene was on the hunt for, and Cissy was doing my make-up. It was a lot of attention all at the same time. Marlene and Alice came up victorious just as Lily was about to start on my hair.

"No! Go put this on first, it has to go over your head!" They tossed me a wad of clothes, and I realized only the bra actually belonged to me.

I grumbled a little, but put it on anyways. A pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a white tank top, and a sheer, peach colored shirt later, I was putting a pair of oxford heels on as Lily was deliberating on whether my hair should be straight or wavy.

She decided on wavy, which is my natural texture, and put a charm on it to make it look 'charmingly sloppy' as she called it. I called it bed-head. Cissy put minimal make-up on my face, but she added a little extra eye make-up for 'dramatic effect'. God save me. Alice put a cuff-like bracelet on me, and they were shoving me out the door, Marley grabbing her camera along the way. Yikes.

Sirius and the rest of the guys were waiting down at the bottom of the staircase, and James wolf-whistled when Lily came down the stairs. Causing her to promptly jinx him. His hair turned a strange muddled purple-ish blue, like she hadn't been able to make her mind about what color she had wanted it to turn. I laughed at his face, and his absolute horror that his precious hair was now not even an easily identifiable color. He scowled at me,

"Oh, shut up and go on your date." I feel my checks get hot and Sirius grabs my hand and we run out of the portrait hole before they can catch up with the dreaded camera.

We're sprinting into Hogsmeade before they're even out of the castle I was willing to bet. We stopped and I was gasping for air, not in nearly as good of shape as my beater boyfriend (boyfriend?) was. He took my hand and we slowed to a leisurely walk through the village, as not to scare the villagers.

"So…Mel, what do you want for your birthday?" I wave my free hand dismissively,

"Oh, I don't know, it's ages away. Think about it later."

"It's in less than a week."

"Psh, no it's not."

"Today's the 9th, Mel." Fuck. My birthday was on the 14th. I guess it was in less than a week.

"Oh, well, in that case, I don't want anything big. You just got me an amazing Christmas gift, love." He rolls his eyes,

"You're turning 17, Mellie. You're going to be a legal adult as of next week. It's a big deal." I roll my eyes.

"Do you know what I want Sirius?"

"No. That's why I'm asking."

"It was a rhetorical question."

"Oh, sorry."

"But anyways, what I really want, is just a quiet day. A day where nothing happens, where we just lay around in our pajamas all day, and do absolutely nothing." He grins,

"I think that can be arranged. Hm…I'll have to talk to Dumbledore… But anyways, where do you want to go? You know how much I hate Madam Puddifoot's, but if you want to, I can deal with it." I laugh,

"Please, you'd have to drag me facedown through Hell before you saw me in that place." He sighs in relief,

"Oh, good. I really do hate it in there. How about Honeydukes?" I nod and was leisurely walk into the best smelling place in the entire universe. Okay, so I'm a total chocolate lover, just saying, and Honeydukes is like freaking Heaven to me.

I was running around like a little kid, all the while thinking about how much I could afford, which kind of sucked, having a limit, but as long I wasn't marrying a psycho against my will, it was a more than fair tradeoff. Sirius leans up against a wall, watching me, chuckling at my complete lack of composure. I finally come up with enough chocolate to get Lils, Marley, Al, Cissy and I through one of our girls' nights, seeing it was my turn to supply the food next month.

One Saturday night a month, we all get together in the Room of Requirement, and completely unbeknownst to the boys, we totally pig out, gossip, paint nails, and just be girly in general. We take turns supplying the food (chocolate), due to how much it costs, and next month, February, was my turn.

Anyways, I went up to the counter, and Joey, the cashier, rang up my items. I knew Joey well; I was here too much not to.

Sirius insisted on paying, which I put up a fuss about but I was overruled two to one.

"Padfooot. You don't have to pay."

"We're on a date."

"So?" Joey smirks,

"It's only right, Mel." I scowl at the cashier and let Sirius hand over the money.

"Thank you." He laughs,

"I'm going to be rich here in a couple years, remember? And I could probably get into my parents' vault if I wanted to, I suspect." I nod thoughtfully. He probably could. I shiver a little, and it doesn't go by unnoticed,

"Three Broomsticks?" I nod vigorously,

"Yes, please." We walk in and I go quickly sit a miraculously empty table as the taller one of us went to attempt to go get Butterbeers. There was no way Rosmerta would give us Firewhiskey in broad daylight, when all the teachers were in the village as well. Under the table? That's a whole other question. Sirius returns a few minutes later with the Butterbeers and I gratefully drain half of mine.

"Careful, Mel, you'll get tipsy." I wave a hand,

"Please. I'm not Lils, who like never drinks except during summer. I'll be fine." He raises an eyebrow at me,

"And when was the last time you got really trashed?"

"Last summer. Oh."

"Exactly. I don't want to have to carry you back to the castle, you know. Your tolerance is probably down a little." I roll my eyes,

"Yes Mum." He smirks at me, and I look over just as the door opens to reveal Lucius Malfoy. Damn it. Sirius follows my line of sight, and he grins, apparently quite happy that he had a bandage on his forehead, just under the right side of his hairline.

"Courtesy of Cissy and I of course." I laugh loudly and Lucius looks over at the sound, apparently being able to pick me out of a crowd. God, don't I feel honored? He begins to make his way over, and I feel my stomach drop. Sirius gets up and moves across the table, so he's sitting next to me, rather than across from me like he had been, placing me safely between the wall, and his rather large body.

Lucius sits in the booth across from both of us and he grins as Sirius,

"Goodness Black, I'm insulted you wouldn't trust me to be near your girlfriend." Sirius eyes him hatefully, and I can feel his temper starting to rise. **Sirius…calm down. Don't start something here.**

"I wouldn't trust you to be around my parents, let alone someone I actually care about." His voice is tightly controlled; he's trying not to break Lucy in half in a public place, mainly for my sake. Malfoy grins even bigger, recognizing the tone of voice.

"Well, that was rude."

"Why are you here, Lucius?" I ask, finally breaking my silence. He smirks at me,

"Well, if you must know, I'm here to tell your boyfriend that I'm going to Dumbledore about my injuries and their nature." I freeze. Sirius freezes. Lucius grins, "Hm? No smartass comments? Well, if that's all, I'll say good day to you both." Sirius places his head in his hands,

"Dumbledore's going to expel me. Fuck." I rub his back soothingly.

"No he's not, love. It's going to be fine." In all reality, I had no idea what Dumbledore was going to do, but I sure as Hell wasn't going to tell him that.

"Yes he is, Mel, he isn't going to have a choice. Abraxas is on the Board of Governors, he's going to suspend me, at least. Where am I going to go, Mel? I have no where to go." I put my hand over his mouth,

"Sirius. Shut up. We'll go talk to Dumbles right now, we'll tell him what happened. If he knows the whole story, he can let you off easy, love. Calm down, nothing has happened yet." He nods and I move my hand from his mouth and we walk backup to the castle in silence, both caught up in what we were about to tell Dumbledore.

We reached the Headmaster's office quickly, and just as I was about ready to knock, Lucius came out of the office, looking quite victorious,

"Better start packing, Black." Sirius looked vaguely sick and I scowled at Lucius, wishing something would just fall out of the sky and hit him on the head. I pull Sirius through the door Lucius has left open, and close it behind us, making sure good old Lucy didn't follow us in.

Dumbles looks up from a letter he was writing.

"Ah, Miss. Taylor, Mr. Black, your arrival is most opportune. I was just in fact writing to Professor McGonagall to fetch you both from Hogsmeade. Mr. Malfoy just told me a most interesting story that involves you, Mr. Black, and your beater's bat. Would you like to tell me what kind of situation necessitated you to attack him with Quidditch equipment?" Sirius says nothing. Unlike me. I say something. It was my best friend, and now girlfriend duty.

"It was because of me."

"Mel. Don't."

"Shut up Sirius. Sir, it was because of me. Lucius he, um, well, he…" I trail off, unable to get it out of my mouth. I look at Sirius, begging for him to help me out a little.

"He raped her, sir." Dumbledore actually drops the quill he was holding. He looks at me with complete shock, and if he felt any pity, he hid it well.

"That's a very serious accusation, Mr. Black. Are you positive?"

"I found her sir. Alone, with no clothes, crying in an abandoned classroom over break. He was also in possession of her wand when I went to go look for it." Dumbledore puts his head in his hands, a habit everyone in this castle seems to share.

"Miss. Taylor, can you please wait outside? Perhaps in your Common Room? This is a talk you need not hear." I hesitate, "I promise I'll send Mr. Black back to you in one piece, and not traumatized." I nod and leave the two men alone, wondering just what it is Dumbles had to say to him. _Thank you. _**Family.**

**Uh-oh, what will happen? Well, here's a hint...  
**

******_I sigh. Prince Hector and Andromache of Troy. One of the most tragic love stories in ancient literature._ **

******For anyone who knows what book Hector and Andromache are from: isn't it just a GREAT sign?**

******For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about: Look up 'The Meeting of Hector and Andromache' if you really want to know. It's part of a rather famous book. Homer, anyone?  
**


	40. The Love of Hector and Andromache

**Disclaimer: Yeahhh.**

**So I know everyone has been waiting on pins and needles to find out just what Hector and Andromache have to do with anything (that was sarcasm, by the way) and so, here you go! I made the whole concept of the mental link up, but it sounded like a Dumbledore theory so I just kind of ran with it.  
**

**Anywayyyss, um, the Iliad is public domain and stuff, so there's no disclaimer on that needed, because there is a passage from it in here and yeah, see you guys tomorrow!  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

SIRIUS POV

Melanie closed the door softly behind herself and Dumbledore looked at me sadly,

"Why wasn't I informed of this earlier?" I sigh and sink into a chair.

"We took care of her. I called Lily, and she came back almost immediately, and Cissy, we asked you to resort her the same day it happened. The three of us took care of her. Then when the others came back, they helped. We're family, Professor, we take care of each other, and Cissy, Mel, and I are so used to picking each other up off the ground that it never even crossed any of our minds." Which was true. It hadn't.

"You need to tell me what happened." So I do. I tell him everything, even the things I'd rather keep to myself, like how bruised her hips had been, or how there had been a handprint shaped bruise on her neck. I tell him how I had intentionally gone down to the Slytherin Common Room with every intention of killing him. Everything.

When I'm done, for a very long moment, he says nothing, just stares.

"Mr. Black, I have a question, and it's rather random, but I must know the answer. Have you done anything extremely illegal in the last year and a half?" I freeze.

"No, sir?" Shit. He knew. He knew. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He knew about the—no! Stop, he can hear my thoughts. GET OUT DUMBLES!

"I know about the what?" Fuck.

"Nothing professor. Nothing at all."

"Are you sure, Mr. Black? If my suspicions are correct, and if Abraxas Malfoy decides to try to get you expelled, you can plead temporary insanity."

"What are your suspicions, sir?"

"It is remarkable, what Gryffindors will do to protect their family, and the people they care about. You know of Mr. Lupin's condition, am I right?" I nod, "Yes, well I suspect that you also know that lycanthropy can only be passed to humans, am I correct?" I nod again, "And I believe that you, along with Miss. Taylor, Miss. Evans, Miss. McKinnon, Miss. Prewett, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Pettigrew became animagi within the last year or so."

Damn it. "That's what I thought. And you were all successful?" I nod again, "Normally, I would be highly opposed to this, and would be very highly inclined to report you all to the Ministry, but considering why you did it, and how young you were, I will not." My eyes flew to his face, unbelieving.

"Really? You're not going to get us arrested?"

"No, Mr. Black, I'm not going to get you arrested. But this is the important part, this, you must answer completely honestly: What is your form, and what is Miss. Taylor's form?" I answer, my voice a whisper.

"They're the same. Dogs." He nods.

"That's what I thought. It is exceedingly rare for two people to have the exact same Animagus forms. You began to hear her thoughts after the initial transformation, didn't you?"

"How'd you know?"

"You two, for all intensive purposes, share a soul, if that makes any sense. It was an untapped, er, property, until you two really embraced your souls and the very form they take. The Animagus transformation is very much a journey of self-discovery, and when you two discovered that you were completely the same, you became able to hear each other. You're not the same person, do not make that mistake, but your souls, which are your very beings, for some reason, were born intertwined.

People who are very close, or similar, are born with souls of that nature, but to have two entities, so connected, so wrapped around each other, is rare, so incredibly rare, that I've only heard of it once in history, and they weren't even aware of what it was. They could never hear each other, because they were Muggles, but they were just as connected as you and Miss. Taylor are."

"Who—who was it, sir?"

"You have read _The Iliad_, am I correct?" I nod. One of the few Muggle Authors we had been allowed to read as children was Homer, and even then, we hadn't been able to read all of it.

"Helen of Troy and Prince Paris?"

"No, no dear boy, Hector and Andromache." I sigh. Prince Hector and Andromache of Troy. One of the most tragic love stories in ancient literature. I remember reading part of it. It always struck me as beautiful, but mostly because it was part of the book I had been forbidden to read…

"…_It would be better for me, should I lose you, to lie dead and buried, for I shall have nothing left to comfort me when you are gone, save only sorrow. I have neither father nor mother now. Achilles slew my father when he sacked Thebe the goodly city of the Cilicians. He slew him, but did not for very shame despoil him; when he had burned him in his wondrous armour, he raised a barrow over his ashes and the mountain nymphs, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, planted a grove of elms about his tomb. I had seven brothers in my father's house, but on the same day they all went within the house of Hades. Achilles killed them as they were with their sheep and cattle. My mother- her who had been queen of all the land under Mt. Placus- he brought hither with the spoil, and freed her for a great sum, but the archer- queen Diana took her in the house of your father. Nay- Hector- you who to me are father, mother, brother, and dear husband- have mercy upon me; stay here upon this wall; make not your child fatherless, and your wife a widow…" _

**(A.N. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's out of **_**The Iliad**_**, Book VI, and it's Andromache speaking to Hector, her husband. The book is public domain, if you want to read it. This part pretty much says that if he dies, so does she, and she begs him not to go to war, as to not make her a widow and their son fatherless. Happy stuff guys, happy stuff.) **

After Hector had left his wife and son to fight the Greeks, Achilles kills him, and his wife goes into deep mourning, something she never really snaps out of.

"Does that mean we're fated to have a horrible end, Professor?"

"No, dear boy, it doesn't. But they are so tightly wound together that it becomes very hard to live without the other. You see my point? You could plead temporary insanity, but for you two get off completely, you'd have to be registered. All of you." I nod, "You can call Miss. Taylor back in now." _Mel? _**Yeah? **_Dumbles knows. He guessed about the Animagus secret. _**WHAT? I'm too good of a person to go to jail. **_Calm down, Mellie, come back here and we'll talk about it. He isn't going to report us. _**If I go to jail, your ass is mine. **She said nothing more. She didn't have to. We waited in silence for a couple minutes, until the door opened to reveal a wary looking Melanie. Dumbles smiled reassuringly at her.

"Miss. Taylor, please take a seat." She looked around at the chairs, giving the impression that she thought they were going to sprout chains and tie her down like the chair in the Ministry courtroom had done to her parents. She opted to sit on top of me, deciding that if I was already sitting this one wasn't going to try to trap her. She pulled her knees up under her chin, her now bare feet digging into my kneecaps.

Dumbles says nothing of the seating arrangement, but just reiterates what he told me, basically our souls for some completely unidentified reason were completely intertwined, and sometimes they bleed into each other, which is why we can hear and feel each other.

"Now, Miss. Taylor, I was telling Mr. Black here that he does have a way out of the charges your uncle will surely place against him: he can plead temporary insanity, being in such a complete state of shock and anger that he couldn't help himself from trying to kill your cousin."

"That sounds reasonable, but Professor, what does that have to do with the link?" She asked perplexedly. I had to admit I was thinking along the same lines.

"Well, he could say that he was more emotionally traumatized than you were because he took some of it away from you. That can happen you know, according to theory books, you take each other's pain away, as long as you put it into yourself." She nods.

"It's worth a try. I don't see the harm. We should probably be registered anyways." I nod, resting my chin on her head. Just then, Minnie walks in, looking rather amazed.

"Black, Taylor. I would like to first and foremost impress the stupidity of what you did onto you. But also, it was remarkable. The kind of skill and perseverance it takes to do something of that scale so young, successfully no less, is incredible. So, I also congratulate you." We both nod, and Minnie pulls out a large stack of parchment out of her robes. We look at them and realize that they are her registration papers. Dumbledore takes a look at them and looks at us.

"One at a time, you need to transform so an image of it can be placed on your papers. Who wants to go first?" We look at each other,

"I will." Mel speaks first and the two adults nod.

"Very well, Miss. Taylor. Proceed." Dumbledore takes a camera out and she shifts into her dog form, falling to all fours in less than a second. Minnie raises an eyebrow,

"Remarkable." Mel shifts back and I step forward as she takes my seat. I shift and my line of sight drops significantly, and I run over to my girlfriend and she laughs and scratches my stomach as I wag my tail excitedly. Minnie and Dumbles laugh and I shift back to human and sit at her feet, my back leaned up against one of the chair legs. **Minnie and Dumbles laughing. Damn we must be good. **_We must be. _She chuckles and they look on, rather amused. Dumbledore whispers,

"How extraordinary. You two can go back to your Common Room, just send all of your friends that need to be registered here as soon as they get back." We both smile politely,

"Yes, sir." Melanie gets up and is out the door before her voice reaches me,

"Last one to the Common Room actually has to do their Transfiguration homework!" I run out of the room, hot on her tail, Minnie looking mortified and Dumbles chuckling.

**Yeah, so for those of you who have PMed me about whether or not i stays canon, well there's your answer, if Sirius is registered, do you know who else is? That's right! PETER IS! He's still a lying bastard though.**

**And from tomorrow's chapter...  
**

**_James came out of the bathroom with a towel tied dangerously around his hips and he grinned when he saw Lily sprawled on his bed_.**

**Goodness gracious, what _has_ the world come to? ;)  
**

**See you guys tomorrow!  
**


	41. If I Wasn't Into Guys

**Disclaimer: :(**

**YAYY! It's Melanie's 17th birthday! Okay, so I know I may or may not of told a few of you that this chapter was supposed to be like three chapters ago, buutttt I lied. Sorry. :P  
**

**So, this is part 1, really, and I'm sorry how I'm leaving it, you're just going to have to wonder what's going to happen until Monday. You people are in no place to complain, by the way, I update 5 days of the week, so be proud of me.  
**

**Read, review, sorry for the ending, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

MELANIE POV

I woke up January 14, 1976, with the largest smile on my face the world had ever seen. I was asleep in the boys' dorm and sighed contentedly; just absorbing how different my life was today than it was on my sixteenth last year. It was a Saturday and I grinned as I poked Sirius in the face. He made a garbled response into my hair and I poke him again,

"God dammit Sirius, it's my seventeenth birthday, get up, you ass." He opened his eyes and grinned, just as Lily burst into the room, he shouted out,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELLIE! HA, I WIN THIS YEAR, EVANS!" Lily cried out in despair, and not being very familiar with the boys' dorms, fell onto James' bed, not knowing whose it was, seeing as he was in the shower. Lily and Sirius had this on going contest to see who could wish me a happy birthday first, and usually Lils won, mainly because I usually slept in her dorm, but this time, Sirius had taken the prize (which was bragging rights).

James came out of the bathroom with a towel tied dangerously around his hips and he grinned when he saw Lily sprawled on his bed.

"Well, Lilyflower, I have to say I like seeing you there." Lily jumped up and was out of the room, fast enough so that only I caught sight of her bright red face, and the fact she had totally checked him out. Oh, Lily, you just need to accept your future roll as Mrs. James Potter. I roll over and smile at my wonderful boyfriend, who was surprisingly good at being just that.

The fan was beside itself that our relationship hadn't imploded, and that Lucius' attempts to get Sirius expelled had only seemed to strengthen it.

"So, oh great boyfriend of mine, what are we doing today?" He grins.

"Well…the girls are going to go dress you up, and then there's a party tonight, and I'm going to pack you a suitcase, and, you and me, we're going on a trip." I raise an eyebrow,

"Oh? And where is this trip to?" He grins,

"It's a secret. Go back to your dorm, Lily is going to help you get ready for the party."

"When's the party?"

"7 o'clock. It's noon now, so you know."

"Can you at least tell me how long we'll be gone?" He winks.

"Dumbles said that he'd give us a week, as long as we did our work when we came back." I raise my eyebrows. A week was a long time to be going somewhere, especially during school, "We can come back sooner if you want." I grin,

"Nah, let's milk this for what it's worth." He grins and I run out of the room, into my dorm where Lily was sitting on my bed with a photo album.

"It's reminisce time." I sit next to her and we spend the next three hours laughing at the pictures of our childhoods. Cissy, Alice and Marles came storming in a three o'clock and the photos were forgotten in favor of make-up and dresses. The others got ready relatively quickly, and insisted they do all of my make-up hair and outfit choosing.

Lily shoved me into a skin-tight red dress. It was strapless, barely covered my ass, and left very little to the imagination. She pushed me into a pair of 5 inch black stilettos and I swore at her as she did my nails blood red to match my dress by magic.

Cissy did my make-up finally letting her inner artist loose and covering my face with a solid layer of cosmetics. She outlined my eyes in thick liner, put gold eye shadow on me, along with about 7 million layers of mascara and blush.

Alice and Marley straightened my hair, making it completely straight, and they added extensions (magical ones that just make your hair temporarily longer) to the ends so it reached past my elbows.

"Mel? Where the Hell did this come from?" I glance up at Alice's exclamation, to see the necklace that had been part of my Christmas gift.

"Oh, yeah it was a Christmas gift. I forgot all about it, actually." Cissy goes over to inspect it.

"This is real, Mel. Who's this from?" The laughter in her voice said she already knew, but was just pushing me to make me uncomfortable.

"Oh, er, Sirius." All the other girls in the room squealed and Lily changed my dress's color so that it was the same blue as the necklace, which she puts on around my neck.

Lily looks me up and down,

"If I wasn't into guys, I'd want to do you." I laugh, but blush anyways. We all hear a knock at the door, which was strange, considering that girls usually just barge into each other's rooms, clothed or not. Lily goes over to answer the door to reveal James and Sirius.

James runs in and grins,

"Ah, so _this _is what the girls' dorms look like." Lily whacks him over the head and everyone laughs at them, and they all go down stairs, presumably to the place of the party (which was undisclosed, in typical Marauder fashion). That left Sirius, who was looking rather good in a pair of jeans and a black button down shirt, and me. He grins at me,

"Come on, let's go." I go to grab a glance in the mirror, yet to see myself, "Nope, we're going. Calm down love, you look beautiful." I smile and say nothing but,

"Yeah, okay, let's go. Where is it we're going right now?" He laughs,

"Where do you think?"

"The Room of Requirement?"

"You got it." We walk up to the Seventh floor, holding hands, the only noise being made by my heels.

We get to the blank wall and a moment later a door appears. We open it to find a party in full swing. I'm pretty sure every house was here (except Slytherin, of course), and everyone was well on their way to being drunk. I see Lily talking with Alice and Cissy, Marlene dancing with some mystery guy, James watching Lily, and Remus watching the guy Marlene was dancing with enviously. Peter was nowhere to be seen, and then I spotted him by a table of Hufflepuff girls. He turned and waved to me, and I grinned and waved back. The table of girls waved too, and I remember that this was in fact, my party. I wave at them, and every now and then someone stops me to wish me a happy birthday. I say thank you, and smile and Sirius grabs my hand and pulls me along to somewhere else.

I spent hours talking, and dancing, and having drinks (I was only delightfully buzzed, thank you very much) and just generally having a good time. When the clock in the room chimed three in the morning, Sirius, who had mysteriously disappeared about an hour ago, reappeared next to me. He grabbed my hand, and whispered,

"Let's go." I look at him and he grins the crazy I'm-a-Marauder-you-better-be-ready-for-what-comes-next smile and I laugh and allow him to pull me out of the Room of Requirement.

"Sirius…you better tell me where you're taking me."

"Dumbledore's office. We have a Portkey to catch."

"And where is that Portkey going to, may I ask?"

"It's a secret, babe." I grin at 'babe' but still follow him, rather intrigued by out destination. We arrive at Dumbledore's office, as promised, and Dumbles lets us in with a smile.

"You have a very good boyfriend, Miss. Taylor." I blush deep red and Sirius coughs uncomfortably, "Well, your Portkey leaves in a minute, so I'll let you two be." He walks out of the room and I groan,

"You're not going to tell me where we're going, are you?"

"Nope. Well, actually, now that I think about it," We both put our hands on the Portkey high heel, "Is there any chance you speak Portuguese?"

"PORTUGAL? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" He grins,

"We're not going—" The Portkey glows blue and we're sucked away. I land on my back and he helps me up, "—to Portugal." I look around, still confused.

"Welcome to Rio de Janeiro, Mellie." Not Portugal. Brazil.

Happy Birthday, Me. Really I mean that.

**Yeah. Sorry about the ending. I live to torture you people. ;)**

**See you Monday.  
**


	42. My Sexy Ass

**Disclaimer: Yeah... :(**

**HOLY CRAP THIS IS CHAPTER 40. I know it says 42, but you have to subtract the two author's notes. So... thank you, thank you, thank you to every single one of you. Everyday I am astounded by how many people read this. Right now, I'm at about 10,000 hits, and it's going up, and I'm beyond happy. I'm over the moon about it.  
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**So thank you to everyone, and this is my gift to you, I hope you enjoy it.  
**

**P.S. This is part one.  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
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**Stars.  
**

SIRIUS POV

I knocked on the door to the girls' dorms, and Evans opens the door, as Prongs bursts in screaming,

"Ah, so _this _is what the girls' dorms look like!" I chuckle as Evans hits him in the head with a magazine that was on the bed closest to the door. They all leave, and that means that it's just Mel and I in her room. She looked damn good and it was really hard for me not to tear all of her clothes of and do her on her dorm floor. I do nothing, though, knowing she was still pretty insecure after the Lucius thing. She stares back at me and I grin.

"Come on, let's go." She tries to sneak a look in a mirror and I take her hand and drag her away, "Nope, we're going. Calm down love, you look beautiful." She smiles and blushes a little.

"Yeah, okay, let's go. Where is it we're going right now?" I chuckle.

"Where do you think?"

"The Room of Requirement?"

"You got it."

Hours pass in the Room of Requirement and I check the time, to see it was almost three. Time to find Mel.

"Let's go." She smiles and allows me to pull her out of the party, and towards Dumbledore's office.

"Sirius…you better tell me where you're taking me."

"Dumbledore's office. We have a Portkey to catch."

"And where is that Portkey going to, may I ask?"

"It's a secret, babe." She blushes again and I smirk.

"You have a very good boyfriend, Miss. Taylor." I cough loudly, trying to get Dumbles to drop it, "Well, your Portkey leaves in a minute, so I'll let you two be."

"You're not going to tell me where we're going, are you?"

"Nope. Well, actually, now that I think about it," We both put a finger on the Portkey, "Is there any chance you speak Portuguese?" Here eyes widen as she realizes we're leaving the country.

"PORTUGAL? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" I grin wildly at her, excited about where we were going.

"We're not going—" We land with a thud and I help her up as I finish my sentence, "—to Portugal." She looks around, perplexedly,

"Welcome to Rio de Janeiro, Mellie." I tell her and her eyes widen even more.

"Rio?"

"Rio. Oh, and Happy Birthday." She smiles and kisses me on the cheek.

"Wow, Dumbles wasn't kidding, I _do_ have a pretty spectacular boyfriend."

"Yeah, yeah, let's get to the hotel." She pauses,

"Not to be one to ruin the mood, but where did the money come from?" I grin and hold up my hand, flashing the family ring that had been left for me.

"Family vault, baby." She laughs,

"I'm sure Walburga and Orion would be thrilled to know that their disowned son was using their family money to take his blood traitor girlfriend to foreign places for her birthday." I grin at her,

"All the more reason." I hail a cab when we reach a main street (we had portkeyed to an alley, where no one would see us). We both slip inside and I give our Hotel name to the driver. When we got there, we checked in and Mel finally realized we had a distinct lack of luggage.

"Where's our stuff?" she whispered to me as we got in the elevator.

"In the room. It's like magic." She giggled and whispered back,

"Magic, huh?" I chuckle and ruffle her hair, which she fixes, pouting.

We get to our room, and I dramatically open the door and she laughs. It's a one-bed room, being cheaper, and we usually shared a bed anyways. There was a small kitchen, a bathroom, just your average hotel room, really, except for the glass doors that open up onto a balcony over looking the beach. Our stuff is sitting in our suitcases at the foot of the bed. She runs over to the balcony and leans over the rail, looking down at all the people down on the beach.

I walk over and look down to see people laying out in the sun, swimming, and all kinds of things. It was summer here, thanks to the hemispheres. January was the middle of their summer.

"Well, Mellie, what do you want to do?" She pulled on the dress she was wearing.

"Get out of this dress. It's a little uncomfortable." I wink at her playfully,

"I can help, you know." She rolls her eyes, about ready to tell me to get out, when suddenly, here eyes light up with mischief,

"Sure. Unzip me?" She turned her back to me, and I saw there was in fact, a silver zipper that ran from the top of her dress to about the middle of her butt. I muttered something about zippers being archaic devices and put my hand on her shoulder and slowly pulled the zipper down with my other hand, until I see the top of her black lace panties. I felt goose bumps raise on the skin on her shoulder, and her back, though smooth to the touch, was littered with white lines and other marks, all memories of various pains and trials. She whispers something I didn't catch,

"Come again?"

"They're horrible aren't they?" I looked at her exposed back, and was quite proud of the fact I was able to keep my train of thought despite the fact she was quite obviously not wearing a bra under the dress,

"They're beautiful, love." There was a rather big, almost burn like, circular scar on her left shoulder blades. I was telling the truth, the scars were beautiful because they were a part of her. I kiss the scar on her shoulder gently, "Beautiful." I whisper into her hair. She turns towards me, clutching at her chest to keep the dress up.

She's so close, so beautiful, and so close to being naked. And so broken. I summon up all my will power and force myself to look away from her blue eyes, which were boring into mine. Lily's words were in my mind. Treat her carefully. She's hurt. Keep it in your pants. She glances down at my neck. She raises her hand and touches the scar that ran down my neck, very, very, close to my jugular. Half a centimeter to the left and I would have bled out. The dress slips a little under the lone hand holding it up, exposing more of her chest. She traces the scar that my parents had given me with a broken mirror with a single finger. She whispers,

"Beautiful." She was so close. She kissed the scar, her tongue tracing it lightly. It ran right over where the skin was thinnest, and I knew she could feel my pulse spiking in her mouth. _Mel…_** Shut up Sirius. **She didn't have to tell me twice. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist as she kisses my neck, now biting at my skin roughly.

One of her arms was a pulling at the collar of my shirt and the other was still holding up her dress, as her lips move to the skin she was exposing as she tugged my shirt's neck down. The top button came undone on my shirt and she kisses my chest, the hand that wasn't holding up her dress, was up the back of my shirt, nails digging into my back. I moan deeply and kiss the top of her shoulder, hard. I knew it was going to leave a mark, and she did too. Her hips shift towards mine, forcing our bodies even closer than they were before.

I place her down on the bed and she looks up at me, not scared, not upset. She started to unbutton my shirt and I pulled it over my head. She pulled my jeans off, and she starts to wiggle out of her dress as best she can from under me. I catch her hands before the dress slips completely past her nearly exposed breasts, preventing me from completely losing my train of thought.

"Mel. Are you sure? Think about it." She looked me in the eyes.

"I need to move on eventually, Sirius."

"But this fast?"

"I'd think you didn't want in my pants, if you weren't you." I raise an eyebrow,

"And what's that supposed to mean, Taylor?" She smirks.

"Well… you _do_ have kind of a reputation, Black."

"Really? A reputation, huh? Well, you do too, Taylor."

"And what's that?" She looks amused now, yet undeniably curious,

"Well, every guy in the school wants you, and every girl in the school wants to be you. Especially now that you're dating my sexy ass." She laughs and I lay on the bed next to her.

"'Dating my sexy ass?'" I laugh,

"You are dating my sexy ass, whether you want to admit it or not." She laughs,

"I'll freely admit it, you loser." I laugh, despite myself. I get up at the same time she does. I kiss her forehead.

"Go put a swimsuit on, we'll go to the beach." She grins and rummages through her suitcase, which I had jokingly packed a white string bikini in, along with her normal swimsuit. She vanishes and I make an attempt to find my swim trunks.

She comes out in the white bikini a minute later and I can't help the fact I stare. What? I'm a sexually frustrated teenage boy, who has a beautiful girlfriend. Who's wearing pretty much nothing (seriously. Brazilian bikinis leave next to nothing to the imagination). She winks as me,

"Like something you see, Black?" I grin at her,

"Yep. Just about everything." She taps her abdomen with her wand (we were allowed to use magic while we were here) and her scars vanish, almost like they were being erased, leaving her body like how it should have been, not beaten after all the abuse she had been forced to suffer.

She winks at me playfully. We walk out of out room, hand in hand. The hotel we were in had a direct entrance to the beach and we were dumped out onto the hot white sand. All of a sudden, Melanie bursts out laughing.

"What's so funny Taylor?" She giggles.

"Look at what the guys are wearing." I look around.

"Oh no. There is no way in fucking Hell—" And that's how I ended up wearing a Speedo to the beach. Fuck.

**Poor, poor Sirius in his Speedo. See you guys tomorrow. :)**


	43. Take Care of My Boy

**Disclaimer: Sadly, it's not mine**

**HI! So, this is the second part of the trip, and a tiny bit of the return to Hogwarts, but that's really going to be tomorrow. Oh, and if for some reason there aren't updates on Thursday and Friday, it's because I have a rather nasty cold and I'm not feeling well enough to engage my mental functions enough to write. :)  
**

**So, everybody have a great Tuesday, I guess, and see you tomorrow!  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy  
**

**Stars.  
**

She's leaned up against a wall when I come out, glowering, in my very much reduced in size swimsuit.

"Now you know how girls feel all the time, with everything out there for everyone to see." She laughs again, but doesn't push the topic.

We let the day slip away, having gotten here in the middle of the day, thanks to our good friend, time-zones, and we spent pretty much doing just as she had asked: absolutely nothing

Two days had passed when we were both getting ready to go to bed, and I accidentally walked in on her getting out of the shower, completely naked. It seriously was an accident, I'm not kidding. She merely raised her eyebrows and smirked as I slammed the door. I could hear her laughter through the door and in my mind.

A day later, we were coming back from dinner when we had a pretty heated make-out session in a public bathroom. I had kicked open and stall door and had wrapped her legs around me, the wall almost completely supporting her weight. She had yanked my shirt off pretty brutally and I had pulled her dress and bra off of her. She had a beautiful body; even with all of her scars she was beautiful. Her face, which with most girls I end up in bathroom stalls with, I don't pay much attention to, was beautiful.

The look of complete surprise when I had thrown her bra onto the floor had made me smile, even then. Her moans as I kiss her breasts that were so loud that security came to check it out made us both roll on the ground with laughter as we talked about it on the beach the day after.

Our fourth day out of the country saw us in a Muggle tattoo parlor. Luckily for us, the tattoo artist happened to be American, and his first language was English. I was still undecided about what to get done, if anything. Melanie didn't have these reservations apparently and seemed to know just what she wanted. She pulled her hair up in a high bun, exposing the back of her neck. I vaguely heard her say something to the guy.

It took him a little over half an hour to finish the single sentence. She glances up at the guy.

"Are you done?" He nods.

"Yep. I'll give it to ya, girl. You're a tough one. Most women I get in here cry. My hat goes off to you." She grins at me,

"You're next Black." I look rather alarmed at that. I realize I still have no idea what she had done to her. She smirks at me mischievously and turns around as she stands up. I get a good look at the back of her neck.

"Ces temps sont durs." I murmur quietly. I thought back to the French I had been forced to learn as a child. These…something about time, er, oh! 'These times are hard', that's what it means. It was a pretty tattoo, very small, in black calligraphy, on the base of her neck.

I hesitated and she sat down in the chair I had been in. I hesitantly took the chair she had been seated in when she had gotten the tattoo. She opens her mouth to say something when she looked down at her purse.

"Do you have a bathroom?" The guys gestures to a door and she walks through it. I see her pull out my mirror on her way through the door.

MELANIE POV

"James?"

"Mel? Where's Padfoot?" I glance at the door I just closed behind me.

"Busy. Where are you? Are you in the forest again?" I see trees behind him, and I swear I hear a howl in the background.

"Yeah, I just needed to ask him something. But actually, you'll do. How do I get Lily to go out with me?" I sigh and run my hand through my hair.

"Well…why do you always act like a dick around her?"

"I—I don't know what to do! It's like she never knows that I'm there unless I'm harassing her!"

"James. Trust me, she knows you're there. You need to stop hexing Snape for the Hell of it. Don't argue with me James Potter." His mouth snaps closed and I consider how to get my Lily to fall in love with him.

Suddenly, an idea hits me.

"Okay, so here's what you'll do: when you speak to her. Pretend it's me, but use her name. And most importantly: STOP ASKING HER OUT. At the end of the year, we'll reconsider whether or not you have the green light to ask her to Hogsmeade, or whatever it is you want to do wither her." He seems to consider this,

"Alright, I'll give it a try. When are you two coming home, by the way?" I shrug,

"Probably the end of the week, so three or four days. See you then Prongs?"

"Sure thing Mellie, take care of my boy."

"Will do Prongs. Bye."

"Bye."

"OUCH! MEL? HOW THE FUCK DID YOU DO THIS?" I laugh and leave the bathroom to the sound of Sirius' loud complaints.

SIRIUS POV

Days slipped by. We knew we should have only stayed a couple days, but we stayed the whole week. We decided that we could easily catch up and I strongly suspected that James had been doing our homework for us, using a touch of magic and his own ingenuity, all along, much to Evans and Moony's chagrin.

It had been a wonderful week I thought to myself as I looked down at the beautiful girl sleeping in my arms. Melanie's, along with my own, tan had deepened significantly thanks to the brutal Brazilian sun and she looked better rested than she had in a long time. She was topless now, having gotten used to sleeping as so. Not that I was complaining. I was in boxers myself. Our Portkey was set to leave at four in the after noon our time and it was about noon now. We were both already packed and ready to leave.

I watched her shift in her sleep. She sighed and buried her head deeper into my chest. Her chest was pressed into my lower abdomen. I ran my hand through her hair Just then her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at me. I kiss her nose, causing her to laugh,

"Hi there."

"Good morning."

"Mm. How'd you sleep?" She asks me as she rolls onto the bed next to me and arches her back, cracking the various bones and joints. I answer her, watching her body move as she rolls her shoulders,

"Good, actually. You ready to go back?" She sighs,

"I really like this. Being here, being with you every night, knowing I'm not going to get busted for using under-age magic, or getting detention for sleeping in the same bed as you, I like it. But yes, I'm ready to go home. I miss the girls, and you need to see James before you go crazy." I nod. I was ready too.

She pushed the covers off of herself and stood up. I watched her as she walked into the bathroom in a pair of panties and nothing else. Oh yeah, I was going to miss that too.

Three hours later, we were finishing up lunch after we had gone down to the beach, getting ready to go back. Five minutes until our Portkey left we were sitting out on the balcony, like we did now, pretty much all the time. I speak with out really thinking,

"Mel?"

"Yeah?"

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" I start thinking about ways to undue the damage when she smiled and softly answers,

"No, you haven't." I move so she's sitting in between my legs, my chin resting on her shoulder,

"Well, I do. A lot." She smiles; I can see the muscles in her jaw move from where my line of sight is,

"I love you too. We should probably go get the Portkey." I nod and pull out a small kettle. We both put a finger on it, and look out onto the ocean as it begins to glow blue. My last view of Brazil is the blue ocean sprawling out in front of me, with Mellie's hair blowing in my face.

We're dumped into Dumbledore's office and he looks up from his papers,

"Ah, Miss. Taylor, Mr. Black, you two are looking refreshed and relaxed. I take it you two enjoyed yourselves?" It felt great to hear an accent like ours for the first time in a week. We both smile and Mel answers,

"We did professor, thank you very much for letting us go. We even brought something back for you." He raises an eyebrow,

"You did? That was very thoughtful of you." She grins and I know immediately what she got him. It's a Muggle t-shirt that reads: CLOTHING OPTIONAL on the back, with a shot of a beach on the front. We had gone to the only nude beach in the city about five days into the trip, just for kicks, and she had picked it up, laughingly, for our headmaster. He reads it and chuckles.

"I'll treasure it for ever and ever Miss. Taylor. You two should probably get going, you have some friends eagerly awaiting your return in your Common Room. Oh, and take tomorrow off, get used to the time zone before you have to go back to class." We both smile at him and with some more thanks, walk back to the Gryffindor Common Room, ready to see our family again.

**And the 'L' word comes out O.o and what was Sirius' tattoo, you ask? You'll just have to see. ;)**


	44. The Southern Hemisphere

**Disclaimer: :(**

**HI! So this is it: the return chapter! Well, Mellie's return at least. Sirius' is probably going to be in a couple of chapters.  
**

**So I'm really surprised at you guys: not one person asked me what Sirius' tattoo was. Goodness gracious, that's surprising.  
**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this one, I know I kind of skipped over the trip, but I did it on purpose! There's a method to my madness (kind of), trust me (maybe).  
**

**So, unfortunately, all has been to quiet on the relationship front for Melanie and Sirius, so come Easter Break (for them, not us) the honeymoon period is over, so get ready for some pretty explosive fighting. Before anyone gets upset with me ask yourself this: would it be Sirius and Melanie if they weren't at each others throats?  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

MELANIE POV

We walk back to the Common Room holding hands. As we pass, people stare. It was about 8 at night here, and people were out in the hallways, returning from and going down to dinner.

I realize why they're staring. We both just disappeared in the middle of the semester, together, for a week, and are now back, without any warning. I look down at what I'm wearing and laugh, a pair of little (and I mean LITTLE) denim shorts, one of Sirius' old Led Zeppelin t-shirts, and a pair of flip-flops. I had my swimsuit on under my clothes, as we had been down at the beach earlier that day. He was in a t-shirt that said 'Brits do it better' and a pair of shorts, that I suspected hid the hysterical Brazilian 'swim clothing', if you could call it that. We were both dressed for summer and not the winter the Northern Hemisphere was currently in the middle of.

We reach the portrait of the Fat Lady and she smiles,

"It's good to have you two back, it's been much too quiet around here. Professor McGonagall has actually stopped going gray." We both grin and she lets us in, with a notice of the password change, and we walk into find the Common Room completely empty.

"Well that was anti-climatic." I nod in agreement.

"I'm going to check the dorms." I walk up my dorm stairs and hear talking on the other side of the door…

"What do you think they're doing?" Lily.

"Oh, I don't know Lils, probably banging left, right, and center, and going to sexy beaches."

"Ahh, Marley, please spare my ears." Cissy laughs at Al, and replies,

"Please, I know Melanie, she isn't banging him. She might give him a peek, but there isn't any sex going on in the Southern Hemisphere."

"Are you talking about the globe, or something else?" Marlene wryly answers and before anyone could answer, I burst in,

"ENOUGH! If I hear anymore speculation about my sex life, I'll be sick!" All four of them get up and squeal at the same time,

"OH MY GOD!" "How are you?" "How was it?" "Was it a sexy time?" "It killed us not being able to tell you, you know." "How long were you listening?" They all take a break for my answer,

"I'm good, it was amazing, it was great to get away. I can't believe Dumbledore let us go for a week. I guess he really likes me. Anyways, yeah, it was a sexy time, but Cissy was about right, just by the way," They all giggle, "And thanks for not telling me you all knew. Hmph, some friends you are. And the first thing I heard was Lily ask what we were doing." They sit me on my bed and ask all kind of things.

"Well, did you sleep in the same bed?"

"Yeah, it was a one-bed room."

"Did you go to nude beaches?" I laugh,

"Once, just to say that we had."

"Did you both get naked?"

"Yep."

"Is he well-endowed?"

"CISSY! And it's possible." I blush.

"Funniest thing that happened?"

"Umm, we got caught making-out in a public bathroom by a security guard."

"Well, at least you were both clothed."

"Sure, Lils. Sure."

"You weren't topless, were you?"

"Maybe, maybe not." She rolls her eyes,

"You two are pigs. Um, did he take you to dinner?"

"Almost every night."

"You're really tan." I glance down at myself, and I am surprised to see that I'm the darkest person in the room. In Brazil, everyone was much darker than here in Northern Scotland, I hadn't noticed that my skin tone had dropped at least three shades in the past week.

"Are those bandages on your neck?" I pause and look up at all of their faces individually.

"Uh…no?"

"Yes they are. Did you get a tattoo?" I look at Marley, alarmed,

"No?" Alice grins,

"Well, let's see then." I sigh and peel the Muggle bandages off and turn so they can see my neck.

Cissy grins.

"These times are hard." Lils looks at her,

"What?"

"That's what it says. It says: 'These times are hard'. Mel, do you not know the spell to heal it immediately? You don't have to wait around for it, you know."

"I didn't know that. Please help." Cissy mutters a spell and taps my skin with her wand and the previously hot and irritated skin felt like cool water was poured on it.

"Much better. You could have had it for years for what it looks like now." I thank her profusely and she grins again at me.

"Did you take pictures? You better have taken pictures." I laugh and pull a thick stack of photos out from the purse Marley had gotten me from Christmas. The girls throw them out on the floor, and they all start to examine them.

"Which one's your favorite Mel?" I look at all of them, there were about 1,000 of them, and they were of all kinds of things. Food, us, beaches, crazy people on the streets, you name it, I had it.

I look through them until I find one of me lying on the beach in my bikini on a bright blue towel. I'm propped up on my elbows and Sirius comes closer with the camera. I put a hand in front of my face and peek through my fingers, watching what he was doing, grinning at him through my hands. Then the camera is jerked around slightly and he pops into the frame and throws himself down, his head in my lap. He says something and I laugh and whack him in the head. You can tell I say 'thanks' to whoever is now holding the camera and I get up, to take it from the mystery person, dumping Sirius onto the sand. The whole process repeats itself, over and over.

I toss the picture to them and they all smile at the moving picture.

"Aww, that's soo cute!" Lily squealed. God give the patience needed to satisfy their questions.

I spend the rest of the night answering their questions of the trip.

**See you guys tomorrow! :)**


	45. The Black Family Temper

**Disclaimer: Not mine :(**

**So, I kind of maybe pushed along the end of their honeymoon period until this chapter, whoops. Okay, so I just want to get out there that these two kids are messed up, and damaged in ways most people can barely imagine, so I don't want anyone to get too mad at Sirius, because she kind of eggs him on, but still. You'll see what I mean. :P  
**

**So, let me know what you think, and there is some major guilt-tripping in this chapter, so be prepared,  
**

**read, review, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

That night I have an extremely hard time going to sleep, alone in my own bed for the first time in almost two weeks (I had been sleeping in the same bed as Sirius for the week leading up to the trip). I toss and turn for almost two hours, staring at the ceiling until the door creaked open, at just after 4 in the morning. Someone slips into the dorm and comes over to my bed. Whoever it was, it was definitely a guy, the silhouette was too broad in the shoulders to be a girl and the arms were too well defined to be feminine.

As the person gets closer, I recognize the long dark hair. I shift over and allow Sirius to slip into bed next to me. He lies down beside me and I put my head on his bare chest. He wraps his arms around my waist and I'm sleep almost immediately.

Just before I drift off I hear Sirius softly singing the tune to a song from my childhood.

I wake up to sunshine in my face and a set of strong arms around me. For a minute I think that there's a day of beaches and eating at cafés ahead of me. I then realize that the sunlight is broken by the panes of glass in the window, and that the bed is much too small to be anywhere but Hogwarts. I let my eyes flutter open and sigh as the arms tighten around me.

Back in England again. Sirius stirs under me and I sit up, trying to escape his vice-like grip to see what time it was. All of the other beds are empty and there is a folded piece of parchment on my bedside table with my name scrawled on the front in the loopy cursive distinctive to Lily.

_Melanie,_

_We all went to class, enjoy your day._

_Lily, Marley, Al, and Cissy _

There was scribbled in a more masculine hand, underneath it,

And the Marauders.

_Go away Potter._

You know you love me.

I chuckle and sigh contentedly. Sirius wakes up underneath me, and as he wiggles around, I catch sight of his family ring. _Look to Kreacher and show him what's enclosed in a month. _I had been a month. It was time to go see the Black's house elf.

"Hey babe." I grin and answer,

"Hi yourself. So…I was thinking we should probably go see Kreacher today." He looks at me sharply.

"What do you mean?"

"The ring? Horcruxes? One month?"

"Yeah, I remember that, but since when is it 'we'? You're nuts if you think I'm letting you come with me." I sit up and look at him straight on.

"And why, pray tell, is that?"

"It's my family, Mel. I don't want you anywhere near them. They're too dangerous." He realizes his mistake too late.

"_Too dangerous_? You're kidding right? Do you think I can't handle it or something? I know you think that you're this big guy who can protect everybody, but you can't. Regulus left those instructions to _me_, not you! If anyone should go, it's me." He stands and walks out the door with a parting comment that sounded suspiciously like 'being ridiculous'.

I raise my eyebrows and follow him out, thanks to my chronic ability to not let things go.

SIRIUS POV

I walk into my dorm and slam the door behind me, only for someone to open it again. Mel walks into the room, her face flushed her eyes alight with anger. She didn't understand my family. They were evil, and they would kill her without a second thought.

"You're not coming, Mel. Get over it."

"Oh yes, I am, Sirius, and you can't stop me. I should be going, I wasn't even supposed to tell you about the ring until like next week! This shouldn't involve you!"

"I'm his brother! I should go!" She glared at me, pissed off,

"Yes, well he didn't quite trust you enough to tell you, did he? Maybe it was because you abandoned him and left him alone with your crazy parents."

Before I could stop myself, I shoved her by the shoulders and her back connected to one of the posts of my bed, making a low thumping sound, and made her gasp for air. She fell to the ground and her eyes snapped to my face. I didn't miss the look of terror flashing through those big blue eyes of hers, lingering from the pain she had suffered as a child.

"Mel…" she pulled herself up and looked me straight in the eyes, she had a harsh look on her face, one that I had never, in my almost 17 years of existence, seen her give anyone but her parents, Lucius, and my mother. It was a mixture of hate, bravery, and worst of all, fear. It was the look she had given my mother, as she was tortured in front of me. It said that as much as she was terrified and in pain, she was egging you on. Go ahead, it said, whatever you do will just prove me right.

"Don't," she hissed back at me, "I always knew your family hurt people, I just never thought you were like them. I guess blood does will out sometimes." She brushed past me and I grab her arm, trying to get her to stop, to let me explain. Before I realize what's happening, there's a sudden burst of movement and there's a radiating pain in my face. I register what happens after it does. She had spun around and slapped me hard across the face, the ring she wore on her middle finger cutting my cheek. She leaves the room and I sit on my bed. Remus finds me there almost an hour later.

"Padfoot…what happened?" I look at him,

"Moony. You're going to hate me, and you should."

"What did you do?" I sigh and I notice for the first time, my hand were shaking, all of me was in fact trembling,

"I laid hands on her." He raises his eyebrows,

"What?"

"I couldn't stop myself. We were arguing, and I just did the first thing that came to my mind. I couldn't stop myself. I know it was wrong, and I know I shouldn't have, but I did." Remus sighed,

"I don't hate you Padfoot. Don't give me that look, I don't. You're one of my best friends, I could never truly hate you. I think she might though." Close my eyes and put my head in my hands, "There's a very thin line between love and hate, and it doesn't take much for one to become the other. They're two very strong emotions and to keep one so close to your heart is very dangerous. What you did today was seen by her as an act of betrayal." I look at him curiously. I hadn't thought of it like that, "Think like Melanie for a minute. You are the only constant in her life. Before she met us, and knew there were people different than her, you were always there. You protected her didn't you?" I nod,

"Sometimes. Sometimes it was the other way around, but yes."

"Exactly. You were the one thing she could always count on to protect her. No matter what she needed, you were there. No matter how hard it was you were always there to help her, or protect her, or whatever. But the point is, you were there. She needs you now, and has become dependent on your well being to have her own. You need her, but no more than she needs you. You put your hands on her and intentionally tried to harm her, someone you promised to protect. That was seen as a very bad thing to her."

"She slapped me."

"She did? Why?"

"I tired to grab her on her way out, to try to get her to listen, and she slapped me."  
"That doesn't explain the blood on your face."  
"She was wearing a ring."

"Ah."

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! YOU ARE SO FUCKING DEAD YOU BASTARD!" I go down to the Common Room, getting ready for my impending death. I come down to see the Sixth Year Gryffindor girls. All of them except Melanie.

When Lily Evans is on the warpath, out for your blood, employ basic evasion tactics. When Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, Alice Prewett, and Narcissa Black want you dead, run like Hell. No tactics, no planning necessary, just run like your life depends on it, because it does. When there are four hormonal, upset, protective teenage girls coming after you, you better be ready to lose an eye, or a limb, or something important to your day-to-day functions. And your dignity.

"Yes, Evans?" Her eyes are blazing, and for the first time in my life, I'm scared to death of her. Evans was always quick to anger, but nothing like this. The worst part was that I couldn't try to talk my way out of it, I deserved it and we all know it. Cissy is standing next to her and she looks at me, disappointed, sad,

"How could you?" She whispers, "She trusted you completely. We all did. You hurt her Sirius. You really aren't any better than your father. I wish I hadn't gotten the emancipation papers to her in time. Regulus would still be alive, and she'd be engaged to someone she could learn to love. Someone I know would never hit her, or push her around just because he can." Marlene looks at me, sad,

"What makes you think you can push women around because they're smaller than you? You could have killed her. Pomfrey said so." I say nothing. James comes in and he looks upset. Evans and Cissy glance up when he comes in and Evans opens her mouth but he puts a hand over it,

"Lily, shut up. I got this." Before anyone could stop him, he had punched me straight in the jaw, and I heard the bone fracture under his hand before I felt it. James said nothing, just went upstairs and slammed the dorm door behind him.

**I told you not to be too mad at poor Sirius, he's only human, raised by assholes.**


	46. Something Solid

**Disclaimer: :(**

**So, this is the patch up chapter for them, and we meet a pretty chill old guy this chapter too, which I'm pretty excited about. Um, this si really where the canonness flies out the window, as the locket makes an appearance, and besides, they didn't even know aobut the horcruxes until the Second War in the canon plot, and I'm just not that patient.  
**

**Read, review, and enjoy,  
**

**Stars.  
**

It had taken me less than two hours to lose most of my friends. James hated me, Melanie was scared of me, and of course the girls were going to take her side. Peter followed James wherever he went, but it seemed Moony wasn't going to take a side, no matter what his thoughts were on the subject.

The next morning, Melanie was sitting with the girls and two of the Marauders. James and Peter. Moony had walked down to the Great Hall with me and was standing next to me. Lily glanced up at me and gave me a look that said quite clearly: come near her, and it will be the last thing you ever do.

"Padfoot? I'm going to sit with them today, but tomorrow I'll sit with you. Marauder's honor." I nod,

"Go ahead Moony." He grasps me by the shoulder and leaves, sitting down by Melanie, whose back is turned to me, blocking her face from my view.

It's that way for the better part of a week. Every other day, Remus sits with me, but other than that, I sit alone in the Great Hall and in all my classes. One day, the 25th, I come down to see that James and Melanie are missing from breakfast. They aren't in any of our lessons, and when I ask Minnie about it she briskly says,

"If they haven't told you where they are, Black, trust there is a reason that they withheld the information. Now go back to your Common Room before I dock points."

They're gone for two days, until one morning, I'm eating breakfast with Moony when a First Year runs into the hall, and to Lily. He says something to her and they all get up, looking concerned. Remus all of a sudden looks at me sharply, his lycanthropy sharpening his hearing,

"Sirius, where's your ring?" I glance down at my hands and shrug,

"I dunno. Lost it a couple days ago and I haven't found it." Evans and Cissy come up to Remus and say,

"You heard." He nods,

"Only parts. Something about an unidentified curse?" She nods, ignoring me so far, fairly successfully,

"Yeah, Pomfrey said that it was the Black Family secret or something. She doesn't know what it is, and Cissy doesn't know the spell either, she said only the potential heirs and their betrothed ever learn it. Which means that Regulus knew it, Katie knows it, Melanie knows it, and Walburga and Orion. Quite stupid of those two, really, it was like leaving a signature on her body." My head snaps up. The Black Family curse.

It was an old spell, a curse of unimaginably dark origins, something I too had been forced to learn as a child. It inflicted great pain upon the victim. Imagine the Cruciatus with all the physical effects of an equally painful Muggle beating, too. The cuts, the bruises, the burns, all of it. The incantation was kept under lock and key, and only about 6 or 7 people on the face of the planet even knew of its existence. I speak before I can stop myself,

"What was she doing near my parents anyways?" Evans looks at me coldly,

"Your ring went missing?" I nod, "James took it. They went to talk to Kreacher about the horcrux. She got caught up fighting both your parents at the same time as James tried to coerce Kreacher to give him the locket. She didn't stand a chance, really, but she's been reckless lately, I'm not surprised that she didn't think twice about it. Do you know the spell?" I nod again, "Well, in that case, you're coming with me." She grabbed me by my shirt collar and dragged me out of the Great Hall, partially choking me, on purpose, I guessed.

We get to the doors to the Hospital Wing and James is standing outside of them in the dim hallway, a locket clenched in his right hand. He looks up as we all approach and he scowls at me,

"What's he doing here?"

"He knows the spell." He hesitates and I see him nod in the dim corridor. He pushes the doors open and I see how bad he looks in the light of the room. His right eye is swollen and purple and he has one of his arms in a sling. He isn't wearing a shirt and his ribs are taped keeping them from moving as they heal back together. He hurries over to the only occupied bed, and Melanie is in it.

She looks the worst I've ever seen her. Her skin is more purple and black and blue than it is her natural color. There are open gashes on her face, neck, and the other exposed parts of her body. There's a burn on the skin that stretches over the point where her collarbones meet on her chest. Her lips are swollen and an odd color. Mother and Father had really gone to town this time. Her eyes flicker around under her eyelids and the muscles in her face occasionally twitch, indication she's in a dream. Madam Pomfrey rushes into the room, getting ready to shoo us out when Evans speaks up,

"Don't push us out, he knows the spell!" She points to me and every head in the room turns to stare.

"Mr. Black, is this true?" I nod uneasily. It wasn't my fault that I had been forced to learn dark spells as a child, "What is the incantation?" I whisper it gently, I knew it, I could never forget it, even if I tried.

"Crucio vidistis." She raises an eyebrow but says nothing but,

"Thank you."

"Madam Pomfrey? When she wakes up, can you tell her I'm sorry?" She looks at me sadly,

"This wasn't your fault, Mr. Black."

"Can you just pass it along? She'll know what I mean." She nods and I leave, allowing Evans, Marlene, Alice, and Cissy to relax, and James could worry about his 'little sister' in peace.

MELANIE POV

"Crucio vidistis" is what I greet the all too familiar blackness to and what I wake to. There are people talking above me. The first time, it was Walburga Black, that crazy bitch, that had screamed the curse at me as I fought to give Prongs time to get the locket, the second time was a man's voice, very familiar, and soothing, easing the nightmares that were thumping into the walls of my mind.

"Can you tell her I'm sorry?" I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn't listen,

"This wasn't your fault, Mr. Black." Ah, Sirius. I felt very detached from everything. The words meant nothing, the voices were just voices, but that name meant more than the other things. To a girl floating in nothingness, it seemed very much like something solid to hold onto. I pulled up all I could think of and let it run through my mind. This was solid, concrete. It kept me grounded.

"Can you just pass it along? She'll know what I mean." I hear a door open and I want him to stay, Come back, I want to say, but I can't. I can't do anything but hold onto the boy with the grey eyes that just left the Hospital Wing.

"Do you think he's really sorry?" A snort.

"Please, Lils, it's Sirius, is he ever sorry for anything?"

"When it involves her he is." A sigh.

"Do you think we should stop hating him yet?" Yes. Yes, I think that very much. I think that there are something's that you can't escape. Blood is one of them. I slapped him back, we were even and that was that. I didn't see that until now.

"James, he hurt her. She could have died."

"And how is that different than the rest of her life?"

"Fair enough. But still, he hurt her."

"She hurt him back. I know her, she'll call it even and they'll both move on, until the next time they scrap over who knows what. Do you know who cast the curse?" Another sigh, and a solid thud, like someone was falling into a chair.

"It was her. Walburga Black cast the spell." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door slammed back open. There were several sets of heavy footsteps, and I got the impression of two men walking towards the group around where I was.

"Who—who are you?"

"My name is Alphard Black."

"Why should we let you near her? You're a Black."

"James. He's my uncle. He's different." There is a loaded silence then a shuffling of people above me. Someone prods me with his or her wand and there is a soft incantation murmured,

"Sana vulnera. Sana vulnera. Sana vulnera." It was repeated again, and again, and again. Twenty, then forty, then fifty times. I feel the pain ebb away and my eyelids become lighter. I push a little and they flutter. I pull at them harder and I force them open, any kind of effort made becoming easier by the minute. I can't really see anything for a moment in the harsh light, but my eyes adjust and I see Lily and James are standing at the foot of my bed, watching warily as Sirius' uncle was poking me with his wand.

Sirius stands behind him and Madam Pomfrey is watching on skeptically. The first thing that flies to my mind is the locket. I look at Lily and she shoos everyone out, back to the Common Room. James stays, looking concerned,

"Do you have it?" I ask James. He grins and holds a gold locket with a 'S' carved into the front in front of me, allowing it to dangle from one of his fingers by the chain. It was hard to believe that such a small, beautiful object could cause so much death, anger, and pain. We had all risked and sacrificed to bring this thing to Dumbledore. I had sacrificed Sirius, risked my life. James has risked his family being blacklisted; his sanity, and Reg had given his life for this small object, so destructive by nature.

"You betcha, Taylor. Oh, there's someone here to see you." I sit up in my hospital bed and glance up as the Hospital Wing doors burst open for what must be the twelfth time in the past two days, revealing a panicked looking Sirius, Moony trailing behind him, looking rather afraid of the emotional Pureblood storming into the sick ward. Grey eyes meet mine and he scowls at his friend.

"Really, James? She doesn't look like she's dying to me." I raise my eyebrows at my adoptive brother.

"You told him I was dying? How did you even do that?" James smirks,

"Mirrors, and it was the only way to get him to swallow his bloody pride." Padfoot whacks him over the head, "Ow! You bastard!" I laugh at them. _You're not mad?_** No, I'm not mad, love. We were both wrong. **_I'm sorry I shoved you into a pole._** I'm sorry I slapped you.**_ We are so screwed up. _**Yup. **James shakes his head,

"You two astound me." I grin deviously and feign surprise as I look at the still ajar doors,

"Oh, hey Lily!" James wheels around to find the doorway empty, Lily Evans nowhere in sight.

"Bitch."

"Hey, Prongs, you're not allowed to call my girlfriend a bitch, you know that."

**See you guys tomorrow :)**


	47. If You're a Bird, I'm a Bird

**Disclaimer: :(**

**Hi! So I know I haven't updated in like over 2 weeks, and I'm really sorry, but I re-read this chapter right before I uploaded it, hated it, scrapped it, and life's gotten in that way since then. So, I know this is really sudden but this is the last chapter of Afraid of Greatness, but never fear, to all my readers, I will be posting a sequel, starting in PoA, completely AU. Sirius does do his time in Azkaban, but I messed with the timeline a little so Lily and James have Harry like three months out of school so they're both 29 at the beginning of the story.  
**

**The sequel will probably be going up in about a week, so keep a look out!  
**

**I want to thank all of my amazing reviewers (Lizaluvsdoggies, I can't believe you reviewed almost every chapter!), all the people who faved or followed Melanie and Sirius through the first part of their journey together, and to everyone who read, I can't believe the response this has gotten, with over 13 THOUSAND views, you all amaze, and inspire me.  
**

**Enjoy this, next time you see them, twelve long years will have passed, and Sirius and Melanie Black (I love that 3) will have an even harder road ahead of them.  
**

**Thank you, and see you on the other side,  
**

**Stars.  
**

It was the dreaded day. I woke up in the boys' dorm, completely at peace. It was a Thursday and we had a half-day of classes. Why a half-day, you ask? Well, someone thought it would be a spectacular idea to put on a ball. On February 14th. A Valentine's Day Ball. I thought of the primping, and the screaming, and of course, the ravenous fan club. It was a known fact that about 70% of Sirius' relationships disintegrated on or near Valentine's Day, and everyone was watching excitedly, hoping that I'll be storming out of the Great Hall in tears by the end of the night.

I seriously doubted it, and had the infinite and heartfelt reassurances from my boyfriend and friends that this wouldn't be the case. Sirius had scoffed and kissed my forehead when I had mentioned it in passing,

"Please, babe. I plan on being with you for longer than the next two weeks. We're not going to break up because of a stupid holiday. Come on, let's go get some sleep." Lily had frowned at him and told him that she was sharpening her knives in preparation for if he ever hurt me, and he just gulped and looked away from the irritable ginger.

James walked out of their bathroom, dressed.

"You better get back to the girls' dorms, Mel, you're gonna look like Hell on this most holy of days." I checked the time and swore. I was 25 minutes late. I bolted out of the room, came flying into my dorm and everyone stared then when I yelled,

"Girl emergency!" and gestured to my very pajama-clad self, they all went into girl mode. Lily shoved me into the shower, dunking my head under the running water long enough to be able to use a spell to wash my hair (the hair needed to be wet, for some reason) and I quickly rinsed off, I had a uniform flung at me by Cissy. I pulled on my skirt and buttoned my shirt like I always did. I checked the time: 10 minutes before we had to leave for our first class. Alice broke out chocolate and we all ate a sizeable amount, as breakfast. They were all ready and I felt kind of bad about holding them up. I mentioned it and got a face full of powder foundation in response.

They insisted on doing something extra, as much as I protested, and Marlene did my make-up magically, making it virtually perfect. Lily straightened my hair with a wave of her wand and Cissy handed me my bag, books loaded in it for the day. We all walked down to the Great Hall together, and saw the boys already sitting at the table. Sirius and I had come to an agreement: in our world, and in our relationship, Valentine's Day didn't exist. No one bought chocolates, no one said 'Happy Valentine's Day', it was another day, and that was that. I sat down next to my boyfriend of two months and kiss his cheek.

"Hey." He grins back at me,

"Hey yourself. Where'd you go this morning?" I laugh,

"Overslept. Thank your brother over there for getting me in my dorm on time this morning." I gesture to James, who was sitting between Marley and Moony, looking rather unhappy with the seating arrangement, Lily sitting on the other side of the table, chatting with Cissy and Al.

We weren't sitting down for more than two minutes before we had to go to Potions. We walked in and Slughorn cheerily greeted us all.

"Good morning, dear students, and happy Valentine's Day to all! Today, in honor of the holiday, we will be brewing love potions. Now, who knows what this is?" Lily's hand shoots up, in typical overachiever fashion. Professor Slughorn looks disappointed she's the only one who knows, well, wants to say. I knew, and I'm pretty sure Sirius does too, because he's been dodging the damn stuff for the last six years.

"Ah, Miss. Taylor, do you know?" For a wild moment I hope he's talking to my sister, but then I realize she's not in this class. I sigh and get a good look at the potion.

"It's Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world." I could smell it, but I'd smelled it before, at home, in my sister's room. She loved potions and wanted to try making the potion almost two years ago. It had smelled like the inside of the Evans' kitchen and what I associated hugging Mrs. P with, then. Now it smelled differently, and I knew just what it was, and there was no way in Hell I was sharing with the class.

"Very good, take 5 points. Now, Amortentia takes on the smell of whatever a person finds most attractive. Miss. Taylor, would you like to share what you smell?" I shake my head silently and Slughorn seems to deflate. James speaks up, saving the day,

"I'll do it for her professor." He nods, slightly more cheery, and as I pass him I breathe,

"Thanks." He laughs quietly and walks up to the cauldron as I stand next to Sirius.

"I smell, lilies, vanilla and chocolate. Is that all professor?" Slughorn nods and James winks at me from across the room. Lils' face is bright red and I can see her trying to avoid looking at James from where she's standing, on my other side. Poor James, he can't help it if he smells our resident ginger's hair. We break off and Lily and I, unlike most days when I partner with my boyfriend, pair off and I see Cissy go with Sirius instead. I need some girl time for this potion.

"So…Mel. What was it you smelled? Because your face got really red and you refused to look anyone in the eye." Lily asked me as she was chopping up some kind of plant (I suck at potions and usually just sit there and talk with my partner).

"What do you think?" She smirks into the cauldron,

"I think what you smelled changed. What you smell has always represented safety to you, my kitchen, Mrs. Potter, all of that, but as what you associated with safety changed, so does the smell. I think now, you associate him," She gestures over to where Sirius and Cissy were working, "with being safe. Now, even at a subconscious level, you feel that if you're with him, you're safe." I can feel my face getting hot again.

"Damn Lily, you're really freaking good at this." She grins smugly into our partially completed potion.

"So, what was it?"

"You just said…"

"I know, but literally, what was it?" I glance around and quietly say,

"Kind of like the Forbidden Forest, rain, and…well, okay this is really weird, don't judge me, he's almost always sweating, don't ask me why, but he is, so yeah." She raises an eyebrow,

"A forest, rain, and sweat?" I frown at her,

"Hey! I said not to judge me!" She laughs,

"I'm not, I'm not. Can you hand me that knife?" I hand her the indicated knife and smugly ask her,

"What about James' Amortentia experience, huh?" Her face turns a really attractive color of red and she mutters something about ridiculous potions, "Hm, sure Lils." We laugh and Lily finishes the potion just as Slughorn comes around to inspect the potions.

"Ah, Miss. Evans, Miss. Taylor, a perfect potion! You don't mind if I take a sample, do you, it would be such a shame to let such a well-done potion to go to waste." We both say yes, he can, and he ladles it into several flasks and walks away, telling Peter that he's going to fill the room with toxic gasses if he doesn't take his cauldron of the burner.

"So, Mel, remind me why you're not going to the ball?"

"Because I'd rather not spend tonight having the entire school watch me, hoping that my relationship will just spontaneously disintegrate."

"Fair enough. So what are you two doing instead?" I shrug.

"I have no idea. Lover boy over there won't tell me." We both look up at Sirius and Cissy, who are trying to frantically keep their cauldron from exploding and/or melting. We both chuckle and the two Blacks look up and meet our gazes. Sirius winks at me and I flip him off with a grin. Cissy snickers and puts her head in her cauldron, trying not to fall over laughing.

BANG. There goes James' weekly cauldron explosion.

"James!" I heard Moony yell at his best friend.

"I'm sorry! I don't know how it happens!" he wailed back at his werewolf partner. Slughorn sighs and waves his wand at James and Remus' cauldron, vanishing the no-good, and apparently volatile, potion.

"Well, on that note, have a splendid Valentine's Day, everyone, and you are dismissed before Mr. Potter blows all of us sky high." James blushes and we all start to pack our things up, trying to escape before James _did_ blow something up.

Sirius catches up next to me as I walk out of the dungeons. He easily takes my bag and shushes me as I protest.

"Mel. Don't argue, I'm your boyfriend, it's my job to carry your books." I sigh, but allow him to sling my bag over his shoulder. He takes my hand with the hand that wasn't holding onto my bag. I lean into his side and we walk into DADA. We take our seats in our last class of the day, and our professor (that dick) comes in, once we have all taken our seats.

"Hello, class, in light of the holiday, we will be working with the Patronus Charm. Many of you are surely asking how this relates to Valentine's Day, well, it is said that your Patronus is the same as your so-called 'soul mate'." I feel heat rise to my cheeks, "The incantation is Expecto Patronum, but that is the easy part. You must capture a memory, so incredibly happy, joyous, and ecstatic that at that moment, you could die a happy person in that moment. It must be strong. The beginnings of the spell will show silver mist. Partner up and get to it." Sirius and I wink at each other and stand and face each other,

"You first Padfoot." He grins and closes his eyes. I feel the rush of emotion, the happiness slowly sinking into me, under the skin.

"Expecto Patronum." His signature silver dog burst from his wand, and knocked into my legs. I laugh at the spectral image of his soul, and scratch it behind the ears. Sirius' soul apparently likes being scratched behind the ears. The entire class stops and stares, and not a moment later, a stag appears, knocking into the dog. James and Sirius chuckle at each other and I focus on my happiness and the laughter that had wracked me at a girls' sleepover, the fondness that had filled me up when I was being carried over Sirius' shoulder. Playing the violin. "He'll never touch you as long as I'm alive".

"Expecto Patronum." A silver dog flew out of my wand, just the same as Sirius' dog. A moment later, a silver doe rubbed up against the side of my soul. It was a strange feeling. For a brief moment, I felt Lily, all of her being, as something so pure, and unadulterated, brushed up against my soul. It made me shiver. The entire room stopped as a lioness, a mockingbird, and a rat joined us. Remus looked at all of us oddly, looking a little insulted. I heard him whisper,

"Expecto Patronum." A wolf, not nearly as strong as ours, he didn't have as much practice, joined ours in the middle of the room. I could feel, as they all ran up against each other, the other's souls. Lily looked amazed,

"Is this how you feel all the time, Mel?" I nod.

"There's only one other person though, not six." Professor Leon looks up in amazement.

"Who is casting those?" The voice is one that I hated. A Seventh Year who was walking by the class, who had stopped at sight of the Patronuses. I lose the memory of laughter, and the safety of lying in Sirius' bed, feeling safe. My dog vanishes. Sirius glances up at me and I am in a dead lock stare with Lucius. I see his vanish too. Lily and James' deer both vanish and they glare at him. Remus' had long faded, not having the strength of practice behind him. Marlene's, Alice's, and Peter's Patronuses vanish quickly after they see the Slytherin in the doorway. He grins, "Ahh, cousin, it was you?" I glare at him harder. Get out of my head, you fucktard. His smirk grows and Professor Leon clears his throat and asks,

"Is there a reason you're in my Sixth Year class, Malfoy?" He says nothing, just walks away, leaving the entire room confused, "Well, on that note, who ever produced a fully corporeal Patronus, take 10 points each. Dismissed." We all left the room, quietly chatting about life and whatnot, and began to head back to Gryffindor Tower, as that was our last class of the half-day. Lily and Cissy began to animatedly talk about their dresses with the other girls, and I fell into step with Sirius.

"So…there's not chance you're going to tell me where we're going, is there?" He grins,

"Nope. But I will tell you this: it's inside the country." I laugh and bump him with my shoulder,

"That's always good, can you at least tell me how to dress?" He considers it,

"Jeans and a normal shirt are fine, Mel, we're not going anywhere fancy. Be ready to leave in like an hour, okay? Unless you want to fall victim to the pre-ball chaos." I nod and run off to catch up with the girls. Alice grins,

"Any hints?"

"Jeans and a t-shirt." She pauses to think,

"Maybe Muggle London, then?" I consider that,

"It certainly could be. That sounds like Sirius. But don't worry about me, you girls have the ball tonight." Alice giggles and proceeds to tell me all about her dress, and how she's finally going to dance with Frank. We arrive in Gryffindor Tower and we all migrate up to the girls' dorms. The others don't need to get ready until about five, and it being three now, I was the only one who needed to start changing. I sigh and consider what to wear. I heed his advice and slip on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, as I rummage through my trunk, coming up with nothing.

"LILY!" Lily comes out and busts into Marlene's trunk. She throws a tight white tank top and a faded, ragged denim shirt at me, a much lighter wash than the jeans.

"Leave it unbuttoned." She goes back into the bathroom, to finish doing what ever it was she was doing, and I change into my new outfit. I look at our combined shoe collection and consider.

"Heels or flats?" There was a unanimous shout of, "Flats!" from around the room and in our bathroom. I decide to trust my friends and put floral flats on my feet and change my make-up a bit, making it a little glitterier, amping up the eye shadow and darkening the eyeliner.

I check the time on Lils' alarm clock and see that I was right on time to meet Sirius. I yell out,

"I'm going!" Lily comes running back out of the bathroom with a vial.

"Wait! Take this before you leave." I take the vial from her and it gives off a faintly flowery scent, and it's a light pink color.

"Lils, I'm really appreciative of the thought, but, er, what is it?" She smirks,

"It's a contraceptive potion, Mellie. Just in case." I hesitate then down the potion in one go. I pull a face at the horrid taste and hand her the vial back as I walk out of the door for real this time. I walk down the stairs to the Common Room, and up the boys' dorm stairs. I walk into the guys' room and Sirius is nowhere to be found, and James is lying on his bed with the Map. He glances up and yells,

"Padfoot! Your girlfriend is here!" Sirius walks out of the bathroom, fully dressed, drying his hair with a towel and grins at me.

"Hey, just give me a minute, 'kay?" I smirk and pull my wand out of my purse and flick it at his head. His hair instantly dries and he marvels at it.

"How did you learn to do that?" I shrug at him.

"I don't even remember, honestly, I picked it up when I was thirteen, I think." He nods absently, still looking at his hair, amazed.

"Well, ready?" I nod,

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" He grins,

"You'll see." He takes the cloak from James' trunk and we walk out the door with a final shout of 'be good, you two!' from James. He slips the cloak over both of us and we slip into the one-eyed witch passageway.

Once we reach Hogsmeade, we quietly slip into the Three Broomsticks, hand-in-hand, still under the cloak. Rosmerta is waiting in the dark pub, looking amused, if not a little agitated.

"Well, you two took your time, didn't you?" We both awkwardly look at the floor, "Ah, I'm just kidding. Have a good time at the—" I look up hopefully, but Sirius beats her to saying our destination.

"Rosmerta!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I won't tell her." I frown, but don't complain. Sirius pushes me into the Floo and shouts another random address. We fall out of the fireplace, and we yet again are in someone's house. We walk out of the house and we come out in front of a move theatre. I laugh.

"The movies?" He grins,

"Sure. We had a great time with Lils and James." I concede.

"True enough. So what are we here to watch?"

"Well…we could either watch a disgustingly sweet romantic comedy, or a disgustingly gory slasher."

"So either way it's disgusting?"

"Yup."

"Hmm. Are you in the mood to be nauseated by love?" He grins.

"Nothing's more fun." I chuckle and check what's playing,

"Hmm, what about the Notebook?"

"Eh, why not?" So, we order the tickets, enter the theatre chuckling about how ridiculous the movie will be, and two hours later, when we walk out of the movies, I'm full-on crying, and Sirius has a little bit of the sniffles going on next to me.

"And—and then he wrote to her everyday!" I wailed. We walked out into the streets of Muggle London. And we were both hit by the frigid air swirling around us. He wraps his arm around me as we walk down the street.

"Oh, please, Mel, it wasn't that touching."

"Hey. I saw you furiously wiping your eyes. Don't even play that with me, Sirius Black. You're just a big softie deep down, aren't you?" He grins,

"Hey, you got me." He kisses my nose and I hear an elderly couple walking by say, 'aww' as they passed. I laugh and kiss him on the lips. He looks down at me.

"I love you." I smile softly back at him.

"I love you too. We should probably get back to school before Dumbles notices that his two favorite students are A.W.O.L."

"We really need to stop calling the man Dumbles." He takes my hand as he speaks and we begin the walk back to the house we Flooed into.

"We're _never_ going to stop calling him Dumbles." As we walk into the house of a complete stranger, I whisper to his mind,

**Take me home, love.**


End file.
